Never Love A Wild Thing
by SuperWhoLockness
Summary: After graduation, Hermione's life takes a turn for the worst, and no one knows why. When Draco becomes genuinely worried about her, will Hermione let Draco turn on the lights in her life or will she stay in total darkness? REVIEWS WELCOME!
1. Happy

**I don't own anything, just the plot.**

This story takes place after they graduate. Hermione goes down a road no one ever thought she would, including herself.  
>I know the plot's almost a far stretch but I thought it'd be interesting and almost a challenge to write. Also, I may not have a whole lot of magical elements in here since Hermione is Muggle-born.<p>

Reviews appreciated. Hint: They also make me write faster.

* * *

><p>Chapter One: Happy<p>

- - - -

"Hey there, legs… how are you doing tonight?"

Hermione took a drag from her cigarette and glanced over carelessly to see an older man leaning against the bar counter, looking her up and down. "I'm fine."

Her two words appeared to annoy the guy who was still looking hungrily at her. She took another drag before she glanced back up at him, only now noticing his five o' clock shadow and his red eyes. It was more than obvious that he had had more than enough to drink from the whiskey on his breath.

"Not a big talker, are ya? That's alright… come with me and I'm sure we can find some use for those lips of yours," he said, letting his tongue caress over his own lips.

Hermione felt a sick twist in her stomach now but was used to older men talking to her like this. This gentleman seemed old enough to be her father. She took a minute to analyze her situation. She didn't have hardly any food at her shitty apartment but she still had shampoo and soap. She didn't need food; she hardly ever ate that much anymore anyway. She already scraped by on her rent by the skin of her teeth. She was okay on funds for at least another couple days. She didn't need to degrade herself tonight.

She put on a fake, but friendly smile and finished her gin and tonic. "Not tonight, but maybe some other time."

Hermione suddenly felt him grab her arm tonight now and she tried to pull away from him but he seemed so strong.

"I wasn't asking you. I was telling you, you little bitch."

She struggled against him as hard as she could but didn't really feel any fear. She just wanted to go back to her apartment. "Let go!"

He was about to drag her out of the bar when she didn't feel his grip anymore. She looked up and saw someone she barely recognized. A part of her felt her heart flutter with hope though as stood between the older man and her, acting as a shield. The guy didn't seem like he wanted to fight someone who met his strength because he finished his own drink and then walked away in a huff.

Hermione looked at her protector now and let out a breath of relief. "Hi."

He chuckled softly and shook his head, almost in disbelief at her appearance. Hermione was so skinny now, her clothes hanging off of her body and the dark circles under her eyes showed that insomnia had taken up rent with her in her body.

"I haven't seen you since we graduated and all you can say is 'Hi'?"

She finished her cigarette and put it out in the nearby ashtray before she walked over to him and then wrapped her arms around his neck gently. "It's good to see you, Harry."

He carefully wrapped his own arms around her, almost as if he was afraid of breaking her fragile body. "It's good to see you too, Mia. I almost didn't recognize you. Are you even eating anymore?"

She casually released her arms from him and suddenly felt a chill run through her again. "I eat. I just haven't been hungry lately. You look good. What have you been up to?"

Harry felt sad at the tone of her voice that sounded almost apathetic and fearful at the same time. "I'm working at Hogwarts, actually. As a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," he chuckled at the irony. What have you been up to?"

Hermione shrugged now and was quiet for awhile. "I've been… doing my own thing, I guess."

"How are your parents?"

Hermione searched her friend's green eyes and suddenly felt resentment creep up on her. "They're dead, actually. Thanks for asking."

Harry immediately regretted asking now, but not having been aware of her parents dying. He wanted to indulge deeper and ask more questions but he could tell by her body language that she wanted to leave and end the conversation.

"Hermione, if… if you ever need to talk to anyone –"

"You're here for me? You're here if I need a shoulder to cry on?" Hermione interrupted coldly.

Harry felt a burst of anger and frustration and couldn't stop himself. "What the hell happened to you to make you so cold, Mia? What happened to you?"

She swallowed hard now and bit her lower lip in nervousness. She took out another cigarette and lit it before she started out of the pub.

Harry followed after her hurriedly and once they made it outside, he grabbed her arm roughly. She immediately turned around and pulled her arm back to her body. "Stop it, Harry! Don't touch me!"

He put his arms up in surrender now and searched her face. "Just talk to me! Tell me why you're not working at Hogwarts! Tell me why you don't have a good paying job doing what you loved and always wanted to do!"

"For Merlin's sake, Harry… just stop it already. This was a mistake…"

He looked at her in disbelief now and watched as she started to walk back to what he would assume would be her apartment. He followed a few steps behind her.

"No! I want to know who made you like this? Are you like this because of your parents dying?"

She spun around on her heels now and shoved him with both hands. "Nothing made me like this! It's nothing! I'm nothing!" Hermione screamed at him, feeling the tears well up in her eyes.

Harry felt surprised at her sudden outburst and his anger disappeared as the urge to hold her against him in comfort overwhelmed him. He took a few steps towards her, softness in his voice. "You're not nothing. Why can't you tell me? I'm your friend…"

She swallowed back a sob and looked away to compose herself before looking back at him. "I don't want to talk about it because… because I can't talk about it! I just can't tell you, or anyone. I'm doing fine on my own, and I don't need to tell anyone. Just… please just leave me alone, Harry."

He felt so confused and frustrated that she wouldn't talk to him. She used to tell him everything, even things he didn't want to hear. Her stubbornness and hardheadedness were two of the reasons why he liked her so much but it was different right now. Harry felt like they were just getting in the way of something really horrible that might have happened to her.

"You used to be so happy."

Hermione shook her head now as she took a couple steps backwards. "Yeah, well… I used to be a lot of things, Harry. Just go back to your perfect life at the school. Don't bother telling anyone you saw me."

With that, Hermione turned around and hurried back to the run down, four story apartments, up the stairs, and into her part of the apartment, closing and locking the door behind her. She fell down on the couch and curled her legs into her body, wanting this day to end already, or better yet, her life.


	2. Good Enough

Chapter Two: Good Enough

"She actually said that?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck and nodded silently before adding, "Yeah and she looked pretty awful too. It looked like she hadn't eaten in days. It was scary seeing her looking like a walking skeleton."

"Blimey, that's terrible, Harry. So what do you think we should do?"

Harry looked at his friend and sighed before shrugging. "I don't know. I wasn't really planning on doing anything after how she reacted. She was pretty adamant about wanting me to leave her alone. I guess we should just let her be."

Ron looked at him in near disbelief and took a step towards him. "She's our friend! We can't just sit by and watch her starve herself. Who knows what she's doing in that shitty place she's living in? I've never seen her touch anything alcoholic and if she was drinking gin and tonic, and smoking, I wouldn't put it past her to be doing something really serious."

He poured himself a cup of coffee as he listened to Ron talk in the faculty lounge with him, feeling grateful that a few others of their friends from the school who had become professors as well weren't there to hear their conversation.

"What do you want me to do, Ron? She's an adult. She can handle herself. In case you hadn't noticed, she hasn't talked to us since we graduated over six months ago."

Ron seemed to be at a loss for words now as Harry brought this up. He leaned against a chair and looked down at the floor, feeling helpless. He wanted to save his friend more than anything.

"Aren't you guys still going out? What happened with that?"

Ron looked up at Harry and shrugged. "I don't know. We had a fight right after graduation over something and then… just stopped talking, I guess."

Harry gave his friend a sympathetic smile before he took a sip of his coffee. "What time do you have to be back at the Ministry at?"

"What time is it now?"

Harry looked up at the old fashioned clock that hung on the wall. "Almost nine; how's the job treating you, by the way?"

"It's great… I mean, the hours are long and I'm rushing here and there all day organizing Quidditch events, but the pay isn't too bad."

"That's good. I'm glad to hear that you're doing really good since graduating. I wish… that I could say the same thing for Hermione."

"Do you think I should go over to her place and try to see what's on her mind?"

Harry finished his coffee and set the cup down before he walked over to Ron. "Only if you have the time and if you think it'll make a difference."

"Anything's better than just ignoring the problem, isn't it?"

Harry nodded but it was only to help end this conversation to stop the heartache he was feeling for one of his best friends. He looked at Ron as he walked towards the door. "Do you want to catch a pint later? I'm not teaching classes tomorrow until the afternoon so I can be out a bit late tonight."

"Yeah, sure. That sounds good, and then I can give you an update on Hermione."

"Great, I'll see you later then. Outside The Three Broomsticks okay, around 10?"

Ron nodded and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, that sounds good, mate. I'll see you then."

Harry watched Ron exit the lounge and then he walked out too, only to nearly run into Draco Malfoy, who was trying to act casual as he looked down at his notes.

"After all these years, you're still eavesdropping on my conversations? I'd figure you'd be getting a bit old for that."

Draco stopped reading his teaching notes and sighed. "I was just walking past the lounge and heard Granger's name. I got curious."

Harry and Draco had been able to become something in the ballpark of friends since graduation and Harry had even been impressed how unlike his father Draco was now and how much he had even matured.

"Alright, since you're an adult I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and trust you with what I'm going to tell you. Don't tell anyone else because I don't want Hermione to know that I'm breaking her trust. I really don't think she'd want you to know."

Draco looked at him curiously now before he organized his notes the best he could in his arms as he started walking down the corridor to act casual. He wanted to prove himself worthy to Harry, and prove that he could be trusted.

"Know what? What's going on with her?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair, feeling almost hesitant to tell Draco. He didn't know why he felt the need to but he felt like he had to tell someone about her.

"She's not doing too great. I bumped into her at the pub last night and some guy was hitting on her. I barely recognized her though. She's so… skinny, skeletal. I could probably fit both my hands around her waist. I don't know if she's… starving herself or she's sick or something, but she looks pretty scary. It's really worrying me."

Draco felt an unfamiliar sickness in the pit of his stomach now as he saw the worry in Harry's emerald eyes. He knew when Harry started to worry, that was when something was really wrong.

"If… If you want, I can maybe stop over after work and check on her?"

"That's alright, Ron said he was going to. Thanks for the thought though, Draco."

Draco nodded, a part of him feeling disappointed and now somewhat more worried about Hermione, even though they had never really became close friends or anything. He motioned in the direction he had to go, knowing that Harry had to go in the opposite direction, and then took his leave down to the dungeons where he was to teach his Potions class.

Harry waved goodbye to him and then started upstairs where Defense Against the Dark Arts class was. He entered the classroom to see his students already there and even though he knew he had to clear his mind of everything, his worry for Hermione never left.

Hermione looked at the clock now as it read eight o'clock. She hadn't slept in almost twenty-four hours. Her insomnia had stuck again and her stomach rumbled unmercifully as she stood up and walked over to the kitchen where she grabbed a small apple and started to cut it into slices.

She grabbed a small plate from the cupboard and placed the apple slices on it just as she heard a knock at the door. She wasn't expecting any visitors tonight so she became weary as to whom it could be knocking at her door. Hermione walked over and timidly opened the door a little bit.

"Who is it?"

"It's… umm… it's Ron."

Hermione bit her lip nervously as she opened the door the rest of the way, searching her friend's face until she finally recognized him. "Did Harry send you here? Did he want to make sure that I wasn't dead in my apartment?"

Ron was surprised at the coldness and harshness in her voice and instantly felt defensive. "No, he told me what shape you were in and I wanted to come over myself, to make sure you were okay."

Hermione smirked slightly and sighed. "Well, I'm still alive. You can leave now."

She was about to shut the door when Ron's hand instantly reacted and quickly placed it on the door to stop it from closing on him. "Wait! Can't you just let me in? Let me talk to you for a few minutes, will you?"

Hermione slammed the door open now and walked back over to the counter to finish cutting her apple. "Fine, come in, Ron."

He walked inside her apartment and was amazed at the messiness of the place. There was hardly anything in the apartment at all besides the bare necessities. Liquor bottles, some empty and some still half full were laid out on the coffee table in front of the couch. The dark curtains that shielded the windows made the inside look a lot darker than it normally would with the matching gray painted walls. Ron hated how dingy the place the woman he loved was staying in.

"Hermione, what are you doing in a place like this? Come to my house. Stay there awhile until you can get on your feet."

She stopped cutting now and gave Ron an angry look. "I don't want or need your charity! I don't need… 'to get on my feet.' To be honest, what you did was shitty and I can't believe that you can come here where I live and feel pity for me!"

He stormed over to her now. "It's not pity! And you know what I did… wasn't supposed to happen! I love _you! _I'm not trying to offer you charity! I'm just trying to do what anyone would do for someone they loved."

"Bullshit. Why is it a lot of things happen when they're not supposed to? Why did you have to break my heart like that?"

Ron eyed the knife in Hermione's hand, almost afraid she might threaten him with it if he got her angry enough. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to apologize for what I did. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but… you need to get out of this shithole, Hermione. You deserve better than this. You _are_ better than this."

Hermione threw the knife down on the counter and ran her fingers through her hair before she shoved him weakly. "Obviously not! I am not better than _anything_ because I am not good enough for you! There will always be something that stands in our way and I can't deal with that possibility! You want something more than me. You need something that I obviously don't have!"

"That's not true, Hermione… don't say things like that. You are good enough."

She fought back the tears as she felt her anger and frustration build up in her all over again. "Stop lying! Stop feeding me lies, Ron Weasley! You're a liar! Get out!"

"Wait… just… just let me talk…"

Hermione shoved him harder now into the living room where the entranceway was. "No! I'm sick and tired of being hurt by you! If I was so good enough for you, why did you decide to cheat on me with that slut?"

Ron let her push him towards the door and when her question came, he found himself speechless. He couldn't even explain himself to her. He swallowed hard and looked down at the floor.

"I-I'm sorry, Hermione. It was a mistake."

"You're damn right it was! Get out. I don't ever want to see you again," she said hotly.

He searched her broken eyes for several moments before he nodded, realizing there was nothing more that could be said, and then left her apartment more brokenhearted and helpless than ever.

As soon as he left, Hermione threw out her apple slices, having lost her appetite now, and then started calling a number on her cell phone she had received from her parents on graduation day.

"I-It's me. I… I need you tonight. C-Can you come over?"


	3. Baggage

Chapter Three: Baggage

"So she really said all that?"

Ron nodded, gloomily staring into his pint of beer. "Yeah, mate. You should've seen her. I thought she was going to stab me with that knife."

Harry took a drink of his own beer. "Well, what you did with Katie Bell was pretty low. I can't really say I blame Hermione for resenting you for it."

"Well, I guess but come on. It's been several months since it happened. Why can't she just get over it?"

Harry shook his head and chuckled at his friend's ignorance. "Women never forget. You really hurt her, man. She's going to need some time to get past it. Just give her space. She obviously doesn't want to see anyone right now. That actually reminds me, you won't believe who was asking about her today."

Ron took another drink of his beer and looked over at him with curious eyes. "Who?"

"Draco Malfoy. He was listening to our conversation we had earlier and he asked how she was doing."

"He's still a slimy git, after all these years. What does he care how she is anyway? Did he hit his head, get amnesia and forget our seven years at the school that he teased her for things she had no control over?"

Harry shrugged and sat back. "I don't know. He seemed pretty concerned about her though. Maybe he really is worried about her as much as we are. He probably regrets not getting to know her better or be friends."

"Or maybe he just wants to humiliate her. He could be trying to weasel his way into her life, sleep with her, and then leave her high and dry. Do you really think he's matured at all since we graduated?"

"I don't know, but I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and say 'yes.' We don't know what's been happening in his life. Maybe he's just going through his own shit and is looking for someone he can relate to."

Ron scoffed. "Doubt it. I still wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him."

* * *

><p>"So was that good, sweet thing?"<p>

Hermione covered herself with the bed sheets and just nodded silently before she leaned over to her side and lit a cigarette. She glanced over at the man who she barely even knew and was left with a feeling of emptiness once again.

"I told you I'd figure out what we could do with those lips of yours. How much this time?"

Hermione took a drag of her cigarette and looked up at him as he got his wallet out. "One-fifty."

"What? Last time it was only a hundred. Trying to rob me a gunpoint…"

"Last time didn't include oral," she spoke quietly, feeling ashamed of what she was doing.

"Fine. Take your money, you filthy whore," the man said, throwing the hundred dollar bill and a fifty in her direction on the bed. "It was nice screwing you. Call me up again the next time you're feeling needy."

Hermione took the money and placed it in a drawer next to the bed before she wrapped the sheets completely around her small body and started following him to the door. "Thank you."

Before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. She glanced at the man and became suspicious. "Are _you_ expecting anyone?"

He shook his head. "Hell no. You're the only girl for me, babe."

She rolled her eyes and then moved forward and opened it, almost falling over in surprise to see the last person on earth she ever thought she'd see right now. "Hello. Umm… how did you know I lived here?"

Draco looked at the sheet wrapped around her small and what he assumed would be her naked body, and then he politely looked down to give her some privacy and dignity. "Umm… sorry, Granger. I-I…"

"See you around…" The man said to Hermione and then sideways stepped around Draco before he left the apartments.

Hermione sighed, feeling awkward after watching the guy leave. She looked at Draco now and felt something she didn't feel around Harry and Ron. "Come inside."

Draco glanced up at her and searched her face, surprised at the invitation. "Are… are you sure? I obviously didn't catch you at a good time."

"No, it's fine," Hermione said with a tone in her voice that surprised herself. "Come inside. I'm just… going to go change real quick. Can you just do me a favor and lock the door behind you?"

"Yeah, no problem." Draco walked inside and did as she asked before he walked over and sat down on the couch, watching Hermione go into her bedroom to change. He glanced at the liquor bottles on the coffee table and felt suspended disbelief.

He grabbed one of the half empty bottles and looked at it. "You've got to be kidding me… oh this cannot be happening," he chuckled nervously at himself before he set the bottle back on the table.

"Do you want some?"

Draco looked back up at her as she walked into the room in black sweatpants and a t-shirt that looked small but hung off of her shoulders. "No, no thank you. I've… actually stopped drinking."

Hermione sat down beside him. "How come?"

Draco turned his body so he was facing her now. "You look good, Granger." He saw the condition of her body and her tired eyes but to him, she really did look beautiful.

"That's sweet but you don't have to lie. Harry and Ron didn't really see anything wrong with telling me what was wrong with me."

He gave her a soft smile and looked at the half empty bottles. His stomach twisted uncomfortably again. "I heard about your parents. I'm… really sorry."

Hermione shrugged absentmindedly and looked up at him. "Everyone's sorry. Umm… are the bottles bothering you?"

She wouldn't normally care if they were bothering anyone else, but for some reason, she cared about Draco's well-being. He didn't seem like everyone else, and knew from experience at the school that he wasn't like everyone else.

"Y-Yeah, a little. It's alright, I won't stay long. I'm not sure when your boyfriend will be back and he probably won't want to see me here."

She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around herself. "He's not my boyfriend. He's just… a f-friend." Hermione stood up and grabbed the bottles before she walked into the kitchen and threw out the empties before putting the half full ones in the cupboard.

"Thanks. So… this is probably a stupid question but, how _are_ you doing?"

She hated this new feeling of shame of her apartment as he spoke to her as if he was a brother. Hermione started to fix the pillows on the couch now. "Do you want the truth or do you want me to lie?"

Draco felt pity as she whispered the question and he watched her tidy up. "Always the truth. I know we never got on that well, but… I wish we could be friends. And I don't even mean like how you're friends with Harry and Ron. I want you to be able to feel like you can tell me anything."

Hermione turned back to him. "It's been rough. After my parents died, I… I went through a really difficult time. Ron slept with someone else and I caught him in the act; that was heartbreaking for me. I fell apart because… it seemed like my whole world was falling apart. I can't find a job to save my life. I'm barely scrapping by. I-I'm sorry; I shouldn't be putting all of this on your shoulders. You didn't do anything to deserve it."

Hermione stood up and Draco did too, but only to gently grab her hand to stop her from walking away.

"It's alright. It's fine. We all have our baggage, Granger. You're not the only one with problems."

Hermione reluctantly took her cold hand out of Draco's warm one and turned around to face him. "So what happens now?"

"What do you want to happen now?"

Hermione shrugged and bit her lip before a thought occurred to her. "Are you going to go brag to Harry and Ron about how I let you talk to me?"

Draco looked down at his hands and then back up at her. "No, not if you don't want me to."

"Why are you being so nice to me? You tortured me in school. What changed you?"

Draco searched her sad eyes, but knowing the sadness wasn't for him. "I think that's for another time, Granger. I… should be going now. I have to get up early for work," he said starting towards the door.

"W-Wait..." She waited until he turned around now. "W-Where do you work?"

He was a bit shaken to hear her stammer her words, as if she was afraid to ask the simple question out of fear of something. "I work at the Ministry. I'm in the division of International Magical Office of Law on the Fifth Level."

Hermione's eyes widened at the long sounding job and let out an almost nervous chuckle. "Um, wow. That sounds really important."

Draco smirked slightly. "It pays the bills."

"I bet. So…I guess I'll see you around."

He nodded and his demeanor became grim and worrisome. He took out a pad of parchment he had in his jacket and started to scribble something on it before he ripped it off and handed it to her. "If you need something, anything, don't hesitate to call me. I don't care what time it is."

She took the piece of paper in her hand and caressed her thumb absentmindedly over it. "Thanks."

He smiled weakly and then opened the door. Before she could say anything else to him, he was already gone. She walked into her bedroom and placed the paper in the top drawer of her bedside table where the money was. As soon as she closed it, a dark cloud came over her and she realized that she was alone again. She could still smell Draco's strong cologne hanging in the air of her apartment. Hermione cursed his name under her breath but the thing was, that she didn't mind the smell at all.


	4. Alone

Chapter Four: Alone

... 

Hermione woke up the next morning with a start as she heard loud banging on her door. She put a bathrobe on and walked over to the front door before she only opened it a little bit to see who it was.

"Let me in."

She quickly tried to shut the door and lock it but he shoved it open, nearly knocking her off her feet with his strength. Hermione looked at him and shook her head with disgust in her eyes.

"You're drunk, already, and it's only six o'clock in the morning."

He staggered inside, the thick smell of Irish whiskey staggering inside too. She could feel her heart pounding hard in her chest now, taking a step back with every step he took forward towards her.

"Correction, I'm still drunk from last night. I want my money back, whore. Right now… or you can give me something in exchange for my money."

She swallowed hard now. "Get out! I want you out of my place right now!"

His laughter made her feel sick with fear. "No! Not until I get what I've come for. Not until I get what you owe me!"

She started towards her bedroom to find her phone as quick as possible, but he followed her inside too before she could close the door.

"What a wonderful idea! The bedroom! How romantic…"

He grabbed her arms tightly and threw her on the bed before he started to take down his jeans. She cried out and then went to knee him between his legs but he reacted quickly and thrust her legs further open and punching her thigh hard, making her cry out in pain when he punched her bone.

She felt hot tears run down her face as she tried to struggle against him to no avail. Her weak body was no match against his drunken muscular one and every time she struggled, he just punched her leg or her hip.

"I knew you liked it rough… I knew it!"

"Stop! STOP IT! GET OFF ME!"

He suddenly slapped her hard, causing her face to jerk to the other side on the pillow. "Now stop struggling, you fucking slut! I'm doing giving you what you want! What you do for a living!"

Hermione reached up and started to scratch his face with her nails in an attempt to make him stop. This only delayed him for a few moments as he yelled in pain now. He grabbed her wrist and bent it a way the human body should never bend, and in one quick motion, she heard it break and excruciating pain shoot through her entire body.

"AHHH! OWW!" she screamed in agony.

He pressed his hand against her mouth hard, muffling her screams as he thrust himself into her and started raping her, feeling cold against her feelings.

It felt like hours but in reality, it most likely only minutes until he finally finished. By this time, Hermione's sobs were silent and her lungs hurt. Every part of her body hurt. She curled into herself now and whimpered, not even hearing him leave her apartment, hardly even mentally hearing anything besides her own screams in her head and his harsh words.

It was almost an hour before she decided she had to get to a hospital. She had to do something and being in a hospital where it was a possibility that someone could help her seemed like the most smart idea. She crawled over to her bedside table and opened it, only to see that all her money was gone, all the money she had saved. It had been almost a $1000. Hermione sunk to the floor now, feeling defeated and abused. She couldn't even go to a fucking hospital, and there were no free clinics anywhere near her.

Just then, something caught her eye; it was Draco's number he had left her yesterday. She weakly took the paper. She didn't want him to have to come all the way to her house. The Ministry was in London and she didn't want to be a bother more than she already would be. She grabbed the bedpost and struggled to stand up but almost fell to the floor again. Hermione slowly took a shower and carefully put on underwear, her sweatpants, and an oversized sweatshirt that made her look almost like a child.

She apparated out of her house and in front of the Ministry decided that that would be the quickest and less painful way. Taking the elevator, she made it up to Draco's Department where he worked at. It took her several turns but she was finally able to find his office. She took a deep breath and knocked on his door, perhaps too quietly.

"I told you to leave me alone to work! I'm working on it!"

Hermione jumped as he yelled at her, obviously not knowing it wasn't one of his employees. She looked down, feeling the need to apologize anyway.

"I-I'm sorry…" she whispered, not thinking that her voice would be able to reach normality anytime soon.

Draco looked down at her and instantly could tell something wasn't right. He hadn't even expected her to ever come to his workplace. He shook his head and gently guided her inside before he locked the door so no one could interrupt them.

"No, no. I'm sorry. I thought you were my secretary…"

She just nodded weakly in understanding and looked away, as if she was afraid to make eye contact with him. "I… I'm sorry. I-I didn't know where else t-to go. I… don't have any m-money anymore and… and I couldn't g-go to the hospital. I w-wanted to, but without money… I couldn't and… I-I saw your number -"

Draco saw her cut lip and her bruises on her mouth and this seemed all too real. This was all too familiar to him. "Oh god… Hermione, come on. I'll take you to the hospital. It's going to be okay."

She shook her head now, hints of her old self shining through. "No! N-No… I can't. I don't have any money..."

Draco grabbed his jacket. "It's fine. They know me."

He walked out of his office; his arm barely touching Hermione's back, but more so to guide her, and shouted to his secretary, "Take all my messages! I'll be back later."

When they made it to one of the fireplaces, he apparated them up and out of the Ministry before apparating them to St. Mungos hospital. He went up to the receptionist's desk with her and looked at the lady.

"Excuse me, my friend was just raped…"

The lady looked up at him and then looked at her before back at Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, she is going to have to wait awhile. Please sit down."

"Do you have any idea how important I am? She needs help, right now!"

"Sir, your status would get you into a restaurant and into meetings but not here at a hospital. We go by priority and right now, she is not our first priority. Now please, take a seat in the waiting room before I call security."

Draco sighed heavily and guided Hermione into a part of the waiting area that was empty. "I'm really sorry, Granger. I can't believe you don't have first priority…"

Hermione covered her hands with her sweatshirt sleeves, feeling safe inside it, not feeling like talking. She just shook her head to tell him he didn't matter to her.

He sat with her for almost an hour before he felt the need to talk, even if she didn't want to. Draco glanced at the clock and back at her. "Would you like some coffee?"

Hermione shook her head and looked down at her sleeves again and biting her lip.

"Of course not; that was a stupid question," Draco said quietly, feeling stupid himself. He wearily put an arm around Hermione's chair, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, but wanting her to know that he was there and not going to let anyone hurt her again.

A part of her wanted to lean into him, breathe in his cologne, feel his protection, but her body couldn't move. She could barely even think straight. She just wanted all of this to be over. She hated feeling so used but she knew she had brought it upon herself. It had been her own damn fault that she had been raped. The guy had been right, she had "asked" for it. Maybe not directly, but because of what she did for a living. This knowledge just made her to want to crawl deeper inside herself.

"Granger, Hermione?"

She had barely even heard her name be called when Draco stood up. She looked over at him and then saw the nurse, and stood up too.

"Can I come in with her?"

The nurse frowned slightly. "It goes against the rules, but as long as you don't get in the way of the doctor. Follow me, please."

Hermione walked down the hall with Draco until they entered a room that instantly made her uncomfortable.

"Ms Granger, please take your clothes off, except for your bra and put the gown on. It ties in the front."

The room smelled overpoweringly sterile and the bright florescent lighting made her eyes ache and her stomach feel sick. Hermione looked over at Draco who kindly averted his eyes so she could change. She was both surprised and grateful that the small gown fit her body in the right places so Draco couldn't see anything she wasn't ready for him, or anyone right now for that matter, to see.

She sat in silence with Draco for about fifteen minutes on the bed in the room before the doctor came in.

"Hello there. If you would put your feet in the stirrups and lean back and relax, please?"

Hermione nodded and did as he asked; watching and feeling the doctor start to poke around inside her with his tools. She whimpered slightly in pain, her body jolting. The doctor retreated and sat upright on the stool.

"Well… your attacker did some damage inside of you, Ms. Granger. Ripped tissue here and there, but that will regenerate easily, though it may take a week or so. You're pretty inflamed as well, but we can give you anti-inflammatory medication as well as painkillers for that. Did you… shower right after the incident?"

Hermione couldn't see what the point of this question was and almost felt offended by it. She just nodded and looked at him questioningly.

The doctor nodded. "That was what I was afraid of. It seems like there's no more evidence of the rape so… there's no way we can charge him with anything since there's no proof. Also, did you notice at all if your attacker used a condom?"

She bit her lip hard and she shook her head. "N-No, he didn't."

He nodded again. "I didn't think he would. Most rapists don't. I suggest you wait for a bit, see if you get your period. If you do, that's great news; you got lucky. However, if you're a few weeks late, I suggest you take a pregnancy test. If you are pregnant, and… you don't have a boyfriend, then… you can plan out what you're going to do from there."

Pregnant. The word seemed so foreign to her and never even imagined she would get pregnant this way. She didn't even know what she would do with it if she was. Her chest started to feel tight and her eyes glanced from the doctor over to Draco who had stood up and walked over to her.

"Do either of you have any questions for me?"

Draco watched the doctor write out prescriptions for the pills he mentioned earlier. "When will she stop feeling pain?"

"Well, the prescriptions will help with that. It could be a few days, or it could be a couple weeks. It differs with everyone, but I'm writing out two refills so you can fill it when you need it. If you need anything else, have any more questions, just come and talk to me. My name and number are on the card," he said as he handed Draco the prescriptions and his own business card.

"Thank you, doc."

"You're welcome, Mr. Malfoy," the doctor looked back at Hermione now with soft eyes. "You can get dressed now. I'm sorry about your incident."

She nodded and waited until he left and then started to get dressed, no longer caring if Draco saw her anymore. Hermione pulled her sweatpants and sweatshirt back on and looked up at him with scared eyes.

He pocketed the prescriptions and sighed softly before he looked at her. "When we get back to the apartment, I'll go out and get your prescriptions, okay?"

She wanted to scream and tell him not to leave her alone in the apartment. What if he came back? What if he just kept coming back? She wouldn't be able to deal with that, but when she went to speak, no words came out so she just nodded instead.

"Alright, it'll be okay, Granger." Draco apparated inside her apartment now and watched as she sat down on the couch. He grabbed a pillow and put it on one end and then took the large blanket and wrapped it around Hermione. "Why don't you lay down now… and I'll go and get your meds? I'll be back as quick as I can."

Hermione could tell he was feeling awkward and she didn't want to make him stay longer than he had to. She looked up at him and searched his face. "I-I'll be okay, if you want to go back to work after you get my medication."

Draco listened to her scratchy throat and heard the words come out. The way she had said it made it sound like she didn't want him there anymore so he nodded. "Alright. Rest up and I'll just leave your medicine on the end table here. I'll lock the door on my way out."

"Thank you," Hermione replied, lying down on the couch and making sure the blanket covered her entire self before she let herself melt into it. She closed her eyes and took in the smell of the blanket, wanting some feeling of normalcy again.

Draco watched as her small body curled into itself and he had the urge to kiss her hair to comfort her but didn't think it seemed appropriate right now, so he left the apartment, locking the door behind him and went to get the two medications the doctor had prescribed.

When he came back an hour later, he walked inside and didn't know if she was sleeping or not so he just set the bottles on the end table before he turned to leave.

"Draco?" A small voice whispered so low that he almost didn't hear it.

He turned back and looked down at her, unable to see her face. "Yeah, Granger?"

"W-Will you please stay with me tonight?"

Draco smiled to himself now, feeling like he was needed by someone. "Of course, just give me a minute to call into work. No one will miss me." He left the room and called into work, saying that he had a family emergency he had to take care of. Draco came back into the living room shortly after and crouched down in front of the couch where she laid.

"Where do you want me?"

Hermione felt like it wasn't a good time to have him stay with her after what just happened, and felt like she should be yelling at him, fighting with someone, screaming and crying, shouting to tell him to leave, but she couldn't find the energy. The last thing she wanted was for Harry or Ron to come over, but she just didn't want to be alone either.

"B-Behind me?"

"Sure thing," Draco said as he carefully crawled over her and lay down behind her body. He wrapped his left arm around her body that was cradled by the blanket so didn't feel like he was touching her per say. "Is this okay?"

Hermione melted into him, feeling a sense of security and protection she had never felt in her life, even with Ron and Harry. She nodded but then realized he couldn't see her face. "Perfect. T-Thank you."

"It's okay now. You can go to sleep. When you wake up, I'll give you your medicine."

Hermione closed her eyes in a weak attempt to will all of it away but she knew that it wouldn't be easy. She knew it was going to take awhile to make this nightmare disappear, but she had hope that somehow, Draco could help her.


	5. Stubborn

Chapter Five: Stubborn

...

Hermione looked around the dimly lighted room and remembered what had happened. She felt so tired; she had only been able to get a few minutes of sleep at a time throughout the night. She figured Draco was still asleep so she carefully sat up and saw the pills on the table, another reminder. She grabbed both bottles and then stood up before silently tiptoeing down the hall to the bathroom, closing the door in consideration of Draco.

She grabbed the glass that stood on the sink and filled it with tap water before she took two of each type of pill, one for the inflammation and the other for pain. Hermione choked down the pills before she rubbed her eyes tired and looked at herself in the mirror, feeling just as shitty as she looked. She looked down at her skeletal like body and became curious. She stepped on the bathroom scale, almost anxious to see the number.

_110._

Hermione knew she was underweight, but she just couldn't really bring herself to really eat anything, especially now after what happened. She stepped off the scale and went to leave the bathroom when she nearly bumped into Draco.

"Jesus!"

Draco chuckled softly, holding out his arms to calm her. "I'm sorry, it's just me. I woke up and didn't see you anywhere. I got worried. Are you okay?"

She took a deep breath and let it out before she nodded, running her fingers through her hair. She had half expected to see the guy from yesterday again and just about had a heart attack, feeling paralyzed with fear at the thought.

"Good. Can I get you anything? Are you hungry at all?"

Hermione shook her head, hating herself for not being able to properly talk to him. She didn't want him to leave yet; she didn't think she could handle being alone quite yet.

"Alright… well you have to eat something. If I slice you up some fruit, will you eat it? Or at least try to?"

"Yes… t-that sounds nice."

Draco fought the urge to kiss her cheek and nodded instead before he headed for the kitchen. Hermione forced herself to shower but didn't blow dry her hair and changed into another pair of sweatpants before she walked out into the kitchen, watching him cut up peaches and put the slices in a bowl.

"I'm glad you keep your fruit bowl well stocked. There's literally nothing in the fridge."

Hermione looked down at the counter and looked at her sleeves of her long sleeved shirt. "I've been trying to save up money."

Draco glanced at her. "Yeah, of course; I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing for me to say. I just never met anyone who doesn't keep their fridge stocked at all times. I imagine you haven't been feeling up for eating lately though with everything you've been going through."

"Not really."

"That's alright. I just don't want to die of starvation or anything. Here you go," he said, passing the bowl of peaches in her direction. "Eat what you can, hon."

Hermione's eyes looked up at him curiously, surprised at the pet name he had given her, and wondering if it was just a slip of the tongue. He didn't seem to notice it so she didn't say anything and started to eat the slices of fruit. She then thought about something and bit her lip, hesitating to ask it.

Draco must have seen her hesitation when he turned back around because he spoke now. "What's wrong?"

"Don't… don't you have work today?"

"I do, but if you need me to say here again, I can do that instead. You're more important right now; work can wait."

Hermione looked down at her peaches. She couldn't put him out like that again and he had to go back to work eventually. She liked him here but it wouldn't feel right to ask him to stay again. She bit into a slice and then looked up at him.

"You should go… maybe you can come and visit me later, after work?"

Draco smiled softly and brushed a lock of her hair out of her eyes and behind her ears before he nodded. "Of course, will you let me stock your fridge some?"

Hermione bit her lip, unused to anyone asking this whenever they came over. She wasn't even sure she wanted it stocked as the guy's words pounded in her head on repeat. She finally nodded in agreement and finished her peaches.

"Good. I'll bring some groceries back after work tonight. You have enough fruit to last you the day if you feel like eating again. I'll lock the door behind me."

"Thank you, Draco," Hermione spoke quietly, searching his face. "You've been so great through all of this."

Draco didn't want to tell her that this was the second time he's done this for someone who meant something to him. He didn't want it to seem like he was brushing off her gratitude or anything so he remained silent and just nodded as he walked over to the door.

"Once again, if you need anything, you have my number. Don't hesitate to call me."

She watched him open the door, lock it and then walk out, instantly finding herself missing his presence. Hermione started washing the bowl out to distract her thoughts until she felt tired enough that she thought she could fall asleep. She walked back into the living room and lay down, but sleep didn't come.

She waited two hours but her mind wouldn't let her sleep. Hermione was about to cover herself with a blanket when she heard a knock on her door. She made her way over to the door slowly.

"Who is it?"

"It's your friend Ron! Let me in!"

She reluctantly opened the door and looked at him, not really liking that he looked angry. "What do you want?"

"To talk maybe? Are you too busy that you can't even talk to the guy you went out with at one point?"

Ron rolled his eyes and walked around her and into the living room. "Blimey, you're still going to hold that against me, are you? That was months ago!"

Hermione looked at him in disbelief, already wishing that he would leave. "You broke my heart! Did you honestly think it wouldn't affect me seeing you two? Did you think I was going to forgive you right off the bat and things would go back to normal?"

Ron suddenly backhanded her hard, sending her straight to the floor. He took a few threatening steps towards her now. "You're a bitch, Hermione, you know that? Don't speak! Don't you fucking say two words to me ever again! Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie and I'm better than you and whoever takes me place will ever be! I'm the best you can get!"

His words were like pins to her inflatable heart, stabbing her and releasing the air inside. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she looked up at him with anger in her eyes. "GET OUT!"

"My pleasure… Why don't you get a fucking life and get a job! No one's ever going to want you!"

"GET OUT!" Hermione screamed.

Ron suddenly knocked over her lamp and watched it crash right next to her, sending the glass flying everywhere and plummeting her into total darkness. She whimpered and heard the door slam. Her heart hammered against her chest now as she walked over to the curtains to open them in order to bring light into the room but the dark clouds that promised rain brought no hope of light.

Hermione went into kitchen and turned on the light in there before she sat down at the table and started to cry into her hands. It figured that as soon as Draco left, more trouble would come. She didn't want to call Draco and bother him with something that came and went so quickly. The damage was done and she didn't want to deal with it right now.

_**oOoOoOo**_

It was dark when Draco finally got out of work. He tiredly trudged up the stairs to Hermione's apartment and tried the door to make sure it was still locked. To his dismay, however, the door opened when he turned it. He rushed inside now, knowing something was wrong and saw Hermione sitting under the kitchen light, the rest of the living room in total blackness. He started towards the kitchen and then heard a crunch under his feet. At this point, he was grateful he was wearing shoes when he saw it was glass.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

She watched him stand in the living room, looking at him looking back at her. "I'm okay. Umm… I got upset, that's all."

Draco walked into the kitchen and knelt down in front of her, taking her hands into his, looking up at her. "The door was unlocked. Someone came in here," his eyes trailed to her face where a bruise now formed by her mouth. "Who hurt you? Who did this to you, sweetie?"

Hermione knew that she couldn't make anything else up. She sighed softly and looked down into his stormy eyes. "Ron. He came over. We started talking about our breakup and… he flipped. I started yelling at him to get out and finally he did, not without hitting me first though. He's always had a bad temper."

Draco ran a hand through his hair now. "Jesus… bad temper is not an excuse for him to hurt you, or anyone for that matter. I can't believe he did this."

She shrugged. This had been nothing compared to other times she had been hit. Hermione shook her head and took her hands out of his. "It doesn't matter. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to go after him or anything. This is nothing. Just let it go, please."

Draco could hardly believe what he was hearing, and it hurt him to think about how casual she was being with all of this. She was taking this too lightly and he believed that Ron deserved nothing less than a restraining order after what he did to her.

"I don't want this happening again. He had no right to hurt you!"

Hermione understood why he was yelling now. He was frustrated and feeling protective of her but she had always been pretty independent and now he wanted to ride up on his white horse and save her.

"That's part of life. I can deal with getting hurt. Stop making this a big deal. I just want to forget what happened."

"You're strong, Granger. That's a good quality to have but there has to be justice. If he gets away with it once, he might come back again. Can you just… not be stubborn for once and let me handle this?"

Hermione sighed, resting her head on her hand now. "Fine. Do whatever you want, Draco. I just… don't need any more drama right now."

"Okay, thank you. I just… want to help you after everything you've been through."

"I know… it's fine. Just be careful."

Draco smiled softly. "I will. How are you feeling? Are you in pain anywhere still?"

"Just the usual place," she half blushed. "My face hurt earlier but it doesn't hurt so badly now. I was going to ask you earlier… How was work?"

Draco walked back into the living room and in one swooping motion put the lamp back together. "It was work. You seem to have in your mind that I work at someplace wonderful and fun and glorious," he chuckled, fixing the light. "Work is work, boring, same old same old. I sign things, talk to people, and things like that. It's actually probably the most boring job I could have."

Hermione smiled brightly now, not caring that it hurt her where the bruises were. There was something about him that made her smile. "You could have Harry's job, at the school."

Draco smirked and shrugged. "That doesn't seem so boring. He's doing what he likes and what he knows. More power to him… And why you didn't decide to work there is beyond me," he replied, finishing up with the lamp and grabbing his jacket.

"You know why I didn't want to work there. It was right after my parents' death when I had to decide what I was going to do. Things worked out the way they did. I can't change anything."

"You could see if they are looking for people to work in the library. You'd love that." Hermione was quiet for several moments, looking down at the table. She didn't like where this conversation was heading. "I have a job, Draco. I don't need a different one."

He searched her face in confusion now. "You're still going to do what you're doing even after your client raped you? Are you certifiably insane?"

"Look, I know it sounds crazy but… this is what I do now. I can't go back to the school and get a job like Harry did. This is my life now. I just have to be more careful. Please, Draco… I don't want to go into this right now. Can you just… leave?"

He nodded and searched her face for several moments. "Right… okay. We _will_ have this conversation again though. You can't keep doing this to yourself."

"Whatever, I'll see you tomorrow, Draco. Just leave already."

"Alright," he said calmly as he walked towards the door. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving."

She waited until she watched him shut the door behind him before she stood up and walked into her bathroom, taking two of each pill again before swallowing them down with water from the tap. Hermione rubbed her eyes tiredly and then walked back to the front door and locked it before she lay down on the couch, hating feeling so stubborn and hardheaded. She wished that she could be like any other girl and feel dependent on someone else, but Hermione enjoyed her alone time too much for her own good.


	6. Confessions

**Karate Chic** – I agree. It'd be me too, haha. Thank you for your review!

* * *

><p>Chapter Six: Confessions<p>

…

Draco looked down at the pile of papers on his desk; some required his signature of approval in regards to International Magical Laws, other papers required a favor of him. Even though he knew these were important, he couldn't get his mind off of Hermione. The fact that she didn't want to talk about her problems worried him. The other fact that she was drinking and hardly eating worried him even more. Draco was starting to feel like her problems were his problems too, and essentially they were. Every time he visited her it was temptation rearing its ugly head.

He debated his options. He could throw out all her bottles of liquor but then she might continue to sleep with questionable guys in order to get money to buy more, so that option he could cross out. Another option; bring him to his house and out of her god forsaken apartment that produced bacteria he never heard of before. Also, she wouldn't be able to really bring any of her cliental to his place because it was in London and not really close to the school. Draco glanced at the clock, not having stopped by yet to check on her. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, deciding this was something he had to do. He had to do something to give her promise of a better life. He packed his papers up into his bag and then walked out to his secretary.

"I have an emergency that I have to take care of. I'm cutting out early," he said, not giving her the opportunity to object before he walked out and apparated in front of Hermione's apartment.

When he reached her door, he knocked gently. "It's me…"

Hermione stood up from the couch and walked over, unlocking the door and opening it wide so he could walk inside. "Hey…"

Draco gave her a soft smile and followed her over to sit on the couch. "We should talk."

Hermione looked at him and bit her lip. "Nothing good ever came from those three words. What is it?"

"I think that you should move out of his place. You have barely any food and I think that it would help you out a bit. I think it will help you move past Weasley hurting you and your rape, and… I just think that you need to live in a healthier place, mentally and physically."

She looked at him with confused eyes now and chuckled nervously. "W-Where would I go? I… don't have any family that I could stay with."

"Why don't you stay at my house in London? It's nothing huge or anything but there's lots of room, you can have your private bathroom…"

She stood up now, feeling exhausted from not having gotten any sleep in over three days. Hermione rubbed her eyes tiredly and sighed before she turned to him. "I-I can't do that, Draco. I live here! I'm fine here. I can go get food if I wanted to. I just choose not to."

He had a feeling that Hermione wouldn't take this well. He just hoped that it wouldn't have to argue with her for long. "This place is not good for you right now, Granger! Look around you; there's hardly anything in here that could possibly give you happiness. A change of place would be good for you."

She looked down and knew he was right but she felt like he was against her in some way. "I don't need your charity - "

"It's not charity," Draco interrupted quickly. "It's not. I'm doing this as a friend, as someone who is worried about you, as someone who wants to see you laugh and smile again. Please come back with me. I'm not… going to try anything with you. I'm not going to hurt you. I know what it's like to be hurt by someone and I wouldn't want to do it to anyone else."

She swallowed hard, biting her lip in contemplation. Hermione felt guilty for already imagining Draco's house, which surprised her because the last time he talked about his house in school, it was a manor. She was sick of always being afraid in this apartment, afraid of _him_ coming back. She hated this apartment but it always been what she could afford. She took a deep breath and then looked at Draco.

"How… how much time do I have to pack?"

Draco felt relief overwhelm him and a heavy stone lifted off his shoulders. "Take as long as you need to. There's no rush," he answered. He was grateful that she agreed to his offer that he didn't mind how long she took.

She gave him a weak smile now. "Thank you," she said quietly before she walked into the bedroom and began to pack her clothes.

Draco gave her a gentle nod and started looking around; He hated how much this apartment reminded him of his own broken family. His father had made most every room in the Manor look like this, hardly any natural light, liquor bottles everywhere, no food in the fridge, etc. The last thing Draco wanted was for Hermione to have to live like that.

His thoughts were interrupted by the repetitive ring of his phone. Draco took out his phone from his jeans and opened it. "Hello?"

"Where are you?"

Draco sighed heavily into the phone and glanced at the bedroom door to see if Hermione was near it. "I'm at a friend's house. This isn't a good time right now, Daphne. Can I call you back?"

"No, because I know that you won't call me back. I called your office and they said you had left because of an emergency. Where the hell are you, Draco?"

Draco could hear Hermione in her bathroom, gathering her pills and her toothbrush. "There's a good reason why I don't call you back. I told you to stop calling me and I mean it! I'm not drinking anymore!" Draco said in a harsh whisper so Hermione couldn't hear.

"You were always the best person when you've been drinking though. I miss you," a small voice replied.

He cursed her in his head. Draco knew that Daphne Greengrass would be trouble from the start. Her name seemed too comedic that it seemed improbable that she would ever be a reliable person in his life. She had seemed so infatuated with Draco since graduation.

"You know that's bullshit, Daphne. I was an abusive person when I've been drinking. What we did meant absolutely nothing to me!" With that, Draco closed his phone to hang up on her and felt himself trying not to yell in frustration.

Luckily, at that point, Hermione walked out with a small suitcase full of her clothes and everything she thought she would need. She walked over to him. "Who was that?"

He shook his head and smirked. "No one important, Granger. Are you ready?"

When she nodded, he placed his hand on her shoulder gently and then apparated the both of them to his house. Hermione looked up at it and couldn't believe how different it looked in appearance from the Malfoy Manor. It was larger than the average house but it was all one floor with high ceilings, and bright. Large windows were placed on every side of the house so it brought more natural light into it. Somehow, the differences from her house compared to this one made her feel a little bit lighter inside. She looked over at him.

"Wow… Draco, this is really great. What happened to your father's house? Didn't you get it?"

He bit his lip, knowing that he'd have to tell her a part of his life that he hadn't ever told anyone. "It was in his inheritance but… I didn't want it."

"Inheritance? You mean… he died?"

He nodded. "He drank himself to death. It was a few months after we graduated."

Hermione though about giving her condolences but she wasn't sorry about Lucius dying. He had been a Death Eater and she had a feeling that Draco wasn't really missing him that much either.

Draco was concerned about her quietness but he assumed that she didn't know what to say about his father's death so he changed the subject. He motioned to her to follow him down the hallway.

"My room's diagonal from yours over here," He opened the door and a flood of light came in. "I hope this is alright."

Hermione gave him a soft smile. "It's great. Thank you. I really appreciate this."

He chuckled now but smiled. "No you don't, but I'm sure you will. Here, follow me. I'll show you the rest of the house."

Hermione dropped her suitcase in her new room and followed him back through the long hallway and into the kitchen. She looked at the wooden island in the middle of it and then at the dark wooden table with matching chairs. Everything looked country-like but the appliances themselves were modern with a lot of counter space to spare.

"I keep the fridge fully stocked, there's fruit on the counter if you want that. Feel free to help yourself to anything, day or night. There's pumpkin juice, water; coffee's in the top cupboard along with the plates and glasses. The living room is connected with the kitchen. It's pretty big but if the light bothers you, you can close the curtains. Then, if you're like me some nights and can't sleep, you can go on the back porch and sit. There are couches and chairs out there and it doesn't get too buggy at night. I usually entertain out there if I have friends over. Make yourself at home, Granger. What's mine is yours."

All of this seemed to overwhelm her but she felt more at home here than at the other apartment, and perhaps even at her own house where she grow up. This house, although smaller than the Manor, was still pretty extravagant. It became apparent to her that Draco had inherited a favorable amount of money to be able to afford this house.

"This is amazing, Draco. Thank you. I think I might be on that porch outside quite a lot. I haven't really gotten any sleep for almost four days. I'm exhausted but… my mind just won't let me sleep."

He searched her face for the first time today and realized that she actually looked like the living dead. Dark circles hid under her usually bright chestnut eyes, making them look tired and worn. Worry suddenly grew in him and he walked over to her.

"You haven't slept at all?"

She shook her head. "Not since I was raped."

"Hmm… that could also explain why you haven't really been eating anything lately either. I'll call my doctor and see if he can give you something to help you sleep."

"You're going to call your doctor?" Hermione asked skeptically. "You have your own personal doctor?"

Draco shrugged and ran a hand through her hair. "My father did and I've been able to use the doctor as well. I just call when I need him, and he comes right over. He also got some money from the will."

She smiled softly and nodded before rubbing her eyes. "I don't want you wasting your money on me, Draco. I'll be fine. I just need some decaf tea and to shut my mind off. The doctor will probably just give me pills that I don't need."

"If it's been four days and you haven't slept, you might have insomnia, Granger. Pills will help you. I really think that he should at least come and check on you…"

"Let's just wait until tomorrow. If I don't sleep tonight, then you can call him. I just don't want any more pills," she said before looking down and then looking away, almost ashamed.

"Alright. One more night, but then I'm calling him. Speaking of your other pills, are they almost through?"

Hermione ran a hand through her long hair. "Umm, yeah. I have four of each left, so enough for two more days. I'm starting to feel better though."

Draco nodded as he listened. "Good, I'm glad. So… what do you want to do tonight?"

"I was thinking of just… staying in, maybe having a drink or two?"

Draco started feeling his heart hammering against his chest again. "Umm… if you want, we can go to the pub or something. I don't keep any liquor or alcohol in the house."

Hermione became curious now. "How come?"

He let out a sigh and anxiously wet his bottom lip with his tongue. "Umm… I… I'm an alcoholic, well… ex alcoholic now, I suppose. I guess I inherited that from my father too," he said shamefully.

Hermione suddenly felt she had crossed a line that he hadn't wanted her to cross. "Oh my god. I'm… really sorry. I-I didn't know… I should've… figured it out."

Draco shook his head and waved his hand away. "No, no. It's fine. It's better to learn things out than assume all the time. It's just something that I'm dealing with. It's my own baggage that you don't need to worry about."

She bit her lip and looked up at him. "Well… I don't want to drink around you if it's going to tempt you. I want to help your situation, not hinder it."

He laughed softly. "You sound like my doctor now. I don't want you going out alone if you're going to drink. It's too dangerous."

She sighed but nodded understandingly. "Alright… y-you're right. It'd be inconsiderate to you anyway. I shouldn't even be thinking of drinking around you. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's okay. How about we do dinner instead? I can take you out to dinner somewhere."

Hermione was hesitant at first but she wanted to make things easier for Draco. Plus, she wasn't sure but she was starting to feel something towards him, something other than friendship and a connection that she had never had with another human being in her life other than her parents.

"Okay, dinner sounds good. I-I don't have a dress or anything to wear…"

"It's fine, I'll take you someplace casual. It doesn't have to be a fancy place the first time you stay here. I want you to feel as comfortable as possible. There's no pressure on you or anything."

"Alright," Hermione smiled a bit brighter now. "I'm going to go shower and then get ready and we can leave."

"Take your time, Granger."

She walked down the hall and into her bedroom, happy that she had something she could look forward to again and hoped that things would change from now on.


	7. Better

Chapter Seven: Better

…

"You know, I feel pretty shitty making you feel like you have to drink butterbeer in front of me instead of liquor."

Hermione smiled softly and shrugged before taking a sip of her drink. "Don't feel shitty, Draco. You're not making me drink anything. I'm choosing not to drink in front of you because then it'd feel like I'm shoving your alcoholism in your face and how you can't drink it. That'd just be mean."

He smirked and chuckled before nodding slowly as he lifted his water. "Yeah, I suppose you're right, Granger. Cheers…"

Hermione gently clinked her glass with his and drank the butterbeer again. The two sat in silence for a few minutes as they sat in a casual restaurant type place that appeared similar to The Three Broomsticks. Draco glanced around every now at the people who were sitting at the bar and the tables next to them and drinking pints of beer or hard liquor.

"Is this too stressful for you, Draco? If you want, we can have dinner at home," Hermione suggested, seeing his apprehensiveness. "It's not a big deal. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

Draco bit his lip, running a hand through his blonde hair nervously. "We haven't paid for our drinks yet. I want this to be nice for you… and I want you to enjoy yourself."

Hermione knew that he was obviously just making excuses to stay now and she knew better. She took out her wallet and took out about five dollars and laid them on the edge of the table. "Come on, Draco. We can have dinner at home."

He bit his lip in embarrassment and then nodded, his head done the entire time and stood up as she stood up, following her out of the quaint little pub and outside into the brisk air. Hermione lead them heading in the direction of his house and wouldn't know Draco was walking with her it wasn't for his footsteps on the pavement. They had walked two blocks in silence when Hermione began to feel uneasy and felt the need to break the quietness.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Draco. You're not the only person in the world who has issues with handling alcohol. Your father was an alcoholic so it was pretty much bound to happen to you."

He glanced over at her and sighed, shaking his head. "I know but… being an alcoholic _is _something to be ashamed of, Granger. It's not like I was a happy drunk or a loveable drunk or anything like that. I was… am the same type of drunk as my father. I'm an abusive drunk."

Hermione felt her stomach knot a little now when he said that last bit but tried not to think about it as they continued to walk. She looked up at Draco and searched his face. "You can't call yourself an alcoholic or a drunk when you're drinking water and not giving into alcohol. It's not like you're drinking bottles of it and then beating me right now. You're trying, and that's the important thing."

At this moment, they arrived at his house and he unlocked the door before he opened it and then turned on the light. "Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Once you are at the point where you can go through wine bottles like nothing and then start punching walls and people, you're always known as an alcoholic and a drunk. There's no escaping that shit."

Hermione watched as he walked into the kitchen and glanced at him before she walked into the kitchen too and then opened all the cabinets and cupboards. "Look! You're not hoarding any bottles anywhere."

Draco's shame seemed to build up now as he leaned against the counter and looked at her. "Alcoholics keep their liquor in safe places where they don't think anyone would find them."

Her hope faded away now and she searched his eyes. "I don't suppose you'd show me where these places are? I don't think that keeping bottles are in any parts of the twelve steps."

He rocked on his heels a little bit and sighed, regretting telling her this part. She was going to make sure that he didn't have any alcoholic within his grasp at all, but a part of him knew it was for the best. He wanted to get past this, didn't he? Of course he did. He couldn't do this alone.

Draco nodded and then forced himself to walk down the hallway to his bedroom and walked inside. Dark carpeting and a four poster bed was apparent inside with a large closet and a small cabinet hid what appeared to be a television inside. Hermione was curious where his hiding places were now and followed him towards the closet where he reached up on the top shelf and started feeling around.

Hermione looked up and didn't see anything, unable to figure out what he was trying to do at first and then realization hit her when he finally brought down a green colored wine bottle, half full. He held it out to her reluctantly and bit his lip.

"We'll pour them out," he said quietly, obviously not wanting to do this at all. She nodded and then he walked into the bathroom.

Hermione was going to ask what on earth he was doing in here because she couldn't imagine where someone could hide a liquor bottle out of sight when he took the back part off of the toilet. He didn't have to reach down far when he pulled out a small bottle of vodka. He wiped it off and then handed it to her before he motioned they leave the room and go into the living room.

"Who were you hiding them from if you were the only person who lived here?"

He shrugged and then reached behind the table that held the television. "Anyone who was dumb enough to come home with me, I guess. Then… they would end up facing my drunken wrath."

Hermione chewed on her lower lip anxiously, unwillingly imagining what he was like when he was drunk, how he hurt the women he laid during the night. She was afraid of asking, unsure if she wanted to know the answer but then Draco pulled out another red wine bottle.

"You really liked your wine," she noted, taking it from his reach and walking into the kitchen before she uncorked it and started to pour it down the drain.

"Wine got me drunk a lot faster than anything else. It has a higher alcohol content than beer and more classy than whiskey."

She just nodded in understanding, watching the red liquid stain the metal sink before she poured out the vodka. "My father was a drunk too…"

Draco looked up at her in surprise and searched her face, perhaps searching for reasons why she was so cold to everyone after her parents died. It made him wonder what kind of drunk her father had been and if he had ever hurt her. Then a sick thought crossed his mind; what if her father had touched her when he was drunk? Draco knew that whenever he started drinking, he became abusive but what if Hermione's father had really been sick and on any given night, might have inappropriately touched her? This feeling started to make him physically nauseous but he choked it back to ask the obvious question.

"Did… did he ever hurt you?"

Hermione shook her head and a small smile even appeared on her face. "No, actually. He was a fun drunk, I guess you could say. He always just…acted goofy and loveable. He would still read me bedtime stories and he'd use different voices for all the characters. I didn't even care that he slurred like mad. It made me laugh… and as ridiculous as it sounds, I think my mum and I liked him better when he was drunk than when he was sober."

Draco leaned against the counter again, watching her and smiled as he listened to her, feeling relief wash over him now. "He sounds like he was a good father, I suppose. Better than my father ever was. It's funny, isn't it?" Draco asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

She started pouring the wine bottle out and down the drain now. "What is?"

"How some drunken fathers can win the father-of-the-year award while other drunken fathers can beat their children beyond recognition without a second thought about it. I'm glad yours didn't hurt you though.

Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile, hating the unfairness of it all. "Is that what your father did?"

Draco nodded slowly, tearing his eyes away from the red wine in the sink. "Y-Yeah… for seven years up until I graduated and he no longer had control over me."

She threw the bottles away under the sink and then stood upright, turning her body so she was facing him now. "You're really brave, Draco. I know you won't believe it, but you 're making an effort to stop drinking and you're doing great so far! How many days or weeks has it been?"

He thought for a minute. "I'm about three and a half weeks sober. It's felt longer than that, though. After my father died a few months ago, I couldn't stop drinking. It was all I thought about, every single minute of every day. The guy was a bastard but he was still my father, you know?"

"I know. It's always difficult losing people you love; no matter how they treated you. When… my parents died, I felt like my whole world was crashing into me and I prayed that I would die too. I started drinking, smoking… screwing. I'd do anything that'd take the pain away, even if it was just for a couple hours," Hermione confessed. She sniffled slightly, willing the tears in her eyes away so Draco wouldn't see her cry.

"I understand. I understand how tough it can be, Granger. You're doing a lot better now, though. You haven't drunk since you got here or smoked… or slept with anyone. We can both start over now and we can start our new lives. I know you probably miss your parents, but I know they're looking down on you from up there and they're proud of the woman you're becoming, because you want to change, and you want to be happy."

At this, Hermione couldn't hold back anymore and she let out a choked sob before the tears started flowing. She let out what sounded like a combination of laughing and crying. "T-That's r-really… r-really c-corny…."

Draco chuckled now and then reached out to her before gently pulling her towards him into a comforting hug, embracing her before she started to full out start crying. "I know, but it's true, and you shouldn't think that they aren't proud of you. I'm proud of you."

Hermione clung to him, her body shaking as she thought about her parents and even the "client" who had raped her and the possibility of her becoming pregnant. These things were like a giant boulder on her shoulders, pressing down and making it harder for her to live.

"T-Thank you, D-Draco," she hiccupped, trying to pull herself together again.

He gently stroked her hair with his fingers and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. The kiss didn't seem forceful or demanding, but comforting and in his arms, she found safety. She breathed in his strong cologne and still clung to his shirt, every once in awhile hiccupping a sob. "How about I make us some tea, and we can talk about whatever you want."

She wiped her face and nodded, forcing herself to smile appreciatively. "T-The tea sounds great, b-but… I'm kind of sick of talking. Do y-you think we can just watch a movie instead?"

Draco put away the unused pots and pans, only just realizing that they hadn't even eaten anything; both of them had been too caught up in conversation to really care about food. He filled the kettle with water and set it on one of the front burners before he turned the flame on underneath it.

"Of course; yeah, that's fine. I have mostly old or older movies though, I should warn you. Most of them are classics, but you can go have a look. They're on the bookshelf by the dvd player."

Hermione walked over to the movies that filled up three shelves and started scanning through them; some titles she recognized, the others she barely did. She finally smiled when she pulled out _Casablanca_. She put it in the player and looked over at him. "Is _Casablanca _alright for you? I used to watch it with my mum sometimes. She loved it."

When the kettle started screaming, he shut off the burners and poured hot water over the tea bags in each of the mugs. "Yup, I love that movie too."

Hermione smiled and pressed 'play' before she curled up on one side of the couch and watched as Draco made his way over to her, handing her the warm mug and sitting down on the opposite side of the couch. As they watched and sipped their tea, Draco glanced over and noticed that she had fresh tears in her eyes and wasn't sure if it was because she was still thinking about the loss of her parents, her rape, her potential pregnancy, or simply because of the movie. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and say that the movie was making her sad so he didn't question her.

Then, near the end, he yawned tiredly and looked back over at her to see that her eyes were closed and her mug was empty. Draco waited until the movie ended and he stood up, carefully took her mug from her limp hands and set it on the coffee table. He grabbed the soft blanket from on top of the back of the couch and draped it around her small body, not wanting to wake her by carrying her into her room. He did fix her position though so her head was on a pillow and her legs were stretched out. He kissed her forehead and then walked down the hallway to his own room, quietly closing the door and smiled to himself. Maybe she was right; maybe they could better both of their lives now and things could be different. Better.


	8. Mistakes

Chapter Eight: Mistakes

…

A few weeks had passed and the two friends were able to live in Draco's house peacefully. They talked about small things they liked, such as listening to a thunderstorm outside while they were safely inside drinking tea or hot chocolate. They also talked more about their childhood and shared sympathetic glances when one of them talked about a death in the family or in Draco's case, when his father had beat him up so badly that one of his friends had to take him to the hospital.

The good times in those few weeks were about to end though when Hermione woke up with a sick feeling in her stomach. She jolted up and practically ran to her private bathroom before she suddenly felt last night's dinner come up and end up in the toilet. This had happened yesterday morning as well but she hadn't really thought anything of it.

Draco woke up, faintly hearing the agonizing sound of sickness and he felt a pit in his stomach. He pulled a shirt on and hurriedly walked to Hermione's room and into the bathroom, seeing her kneeling on the floor, her shoulders shaking as she threw up.

"Damn it," he said softly, more so to himself than her, realizing what this could mean. He gathered her long curly hair in his hands and made sure it was out of the way of her face.

"T-Thank you," she whimpered in between wrenches.

Draco sighed to himself but gently rubbed her back to let her know it was okay. "It's no problem, Granger."

When she was finished, she sat on the floor now, leaning against the sink before she ran her fingers through her hair, her teary eyes now looking up at Draco as he kneeled in front of her. "This is a nightmare…"

Draco nodded in understanding as he ran his hand through his own hair in thought and almost fear. "I think I should go pick up a test. We have to be sure. It could just be… a stomach flu or something, right?"

She felt the hot tears run down her face now and she shook her head. "I-I'm… late. I'm almost three weeks late, and that never happens to me, Draco."

His fears became real as she said this and he no longer felt it was necessary to buy a pregnancy test. That was pretty much a done deal, but he didn't want her to lose all hope in the state she was in.

"Alright, you stay here and try to relax and I'll go and buy a couple tests. I'll be back soon."

Hermione watched as he walked out of the bathroom and then listened to the door slam behind him.

_This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't. This only happened on daytime movies where women were always beaten or raped. This couldn't be happening to her. She didn't even know what she was going to do if she was pregnant. She couldn't even go there yet._

She finally forced herself off the floor and undressed before she hopped into the shower to wash all the fear off of herself. Once she was all dressed and had her hair blown dry, she put on the sweatpants that she always somehow made her feel safe. Hermione pulled on a shirt and then heard Draco make his way towards her room again.

"Moment of truth time; are you ready?"

Hermione bit her lip and took a deep breath before she took both boxes into the bathroom with her, gently closing the door behind her. She read the instructions and then opened the first one and did what she had to do. Then she set it on the sink and started to pace anxiously, looking at the clock to time it.

Draco paced nervously outside the door. It felt like ages and he heard silence. "Well? What is it, Granger?"

"I don't know yet," she spoke from inside in a tone that was almost angry. "It hasn't been two minutes yet."

Draco was quiet now, feeling nervous for her. He stood against the bathroom door anxiously.

Hermione waited until time was up and then walked over to the test and saw two pink lines. She felt her heart hammering against her chest and her breathing quicken. "No. It's not right… no!"

Draco heard the commotion and instantly knew what the result was. He opened the door just in time to see her drop to the floor, holding the test in her hands and started crying. He caught her before her knees could hit the floor and he held her against him. "It's going to be alright, Granger. We still have time to think about what we're going to do - "

She pushed him away now, still sobbing and she stumbled as she stood up. "No! _We _aren't going to do anything! You have nothing to do with this! This is my problem, not yours! Don't use _we_ when you're not involved in this!"

Draco was taken back when she pushed him and then spoke. He felt helpless and felt like everything he said to her just hurt her more.

"I am involved in this though! You're my friend!"

She shook her head and let out a sob before she shoved his chest as hard as she could. "No! I'm not your friend! I am a charity case for you! You felt bad for me so you let me stay here! Nothing's changed, Draco… you're still the asshole you were in school!"

Her words pierced at his heart and a part of me knew she was being so hurtful because of the recent results. He let her shove him out of the bathroom and he shook his head. "No, you're not a charity case for me, Granger. Please… let me help you…"

"You can't help me," she said before she slammed the door in his face. Draco was left there, feeling empty and broken.

He knew she was hurting but now he was hurting too. Draco thought they had something good going these past few weeks and that things were pretty good for both of them. He couldn't be strong anymore, not when she wasn't. The selfish thoughts crept in and made the familiar urges for alcohol strong once again. He hurried out of the room and walked into the living room towards the couch. He stood his arm in and groped around the depths of the cushions before he pulled out a small glass bottle of vodka and unscrewed the cap. His couldn't control himself anymore and could feel the months of sobriety going out the window. Draco tilted the bottle up and let the clear liquid burn his throat. He drank and didn't stop until the entire bottle was empty. He became angry at himself now and angry at Hermione for treating him like she did after he took her in and made her better.

He brought his arm back and then threw the glass bottle against the unlit fireplace, making the glass shatter everywhere and fall to the floor. Draco couldn't stay here, he had to get out. He was angry and he knew too well that anger and alcohol didn't mix. He stormed out of his house and then apparated to the only person he knew would make him better.

_**OoOo**_

"I knew you would run back to me, Draco," spoke a seductive voice.

Draco lit his cigarette and sighed, pulling the covers around his waist before he glanced over at her. "You don't know anything, Daphne. You don't know me," he said before he exhaled the smoke.

The blonde haired, blue-eyed beauty moved onto her stomach so she was looking up at him with sultry eyes, purposely showing off her naked body to him.

"Don't be silly, Drakey. I know you better than you know yourself. When something is out of your control or someone hurts you, you run to me because I have two things that you love; alcohol and love. It's not that difficult to figure out. You run to me because you're back into old habits and you don't want to fight them."

He became angry at how she was right. Draco did run to her for the alcohol but the love part was wrong. "You don't love me, Daphne. You love the monster I am. You're so broken from past relationships that you don't even give a shit how I treat you anymore."

She searched his face as he took another drag and sit on the edge of the bed. She crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around him before kissing his bare neck. She was surprised though when he pushed her off of his body and then stood up.

Draco poured himself a tumbler of firewhiskey and then gulped it down. "You know I'm right, and you know that what we do is wrong. You're bad for me, Daphne. I need to change!"

She let out a sick laugh now. "Silly boy, you'll never change because that's what you are, a boy! You're the same little abused boy who used to be beat up by daddy. Alcoholism and a history of violence seem to run in your veins, Draco. You'll never change."

He sneered at her, feeling the mixture of nicotine, alcohol and anger running through him unmercifully. Draco couldn't contain his anger anymore and he suddenly backhanded her, seeing the imprint of his hand on her now red cheek.

"Shut up! You think you know me but the truth is that you never will! You will never know me! Don't even try to pretend that you do because it just makes you look pathetic!"

Daphne looked up at him and shook her head, smirking slightly, seemingly unfazed by his attack. "You're the pathetic one. I don't know who's hurting you but I promise that she'll hurt you again, and you'll come back."

Draco fought back his anger this time and he exhaled the smoke once again before he took the cigarette out and skillfully put his shirt back on, careful not to catch his shirt on fire. He put his pants back on and then looked down at her.

"You know, you wouldn't be such a bitch if you hadn't been hurt by your own father. Don't forget for one minute that we all have our baggage and violence runs in your family as well."

She looked at him with a demeanor that he never had seen before and knew that he had made a point. Draco exited her apartment and then started back to his own house, only now remembering about leaving Hermione there.

His head was still fuzzy from the amount of alcohol he consumed throughout the night and Daphne still made his blood boil. Draco walked inside and saw Hermione sitting on the floor and carefully picking up pieces of the glass bottle that he had broken hours ago. When he saw her small body encircled around the glass, his anger seemed to float out and sympathy and guilt engulfed him.

"It's late… you should be in bed."

Hermione stood up and without saying anything, walked past him before throwing the glass out into the garbage in the kitchen. She walked back over to him and saw his eyes were bloodshot and he smelled like perfume and whiskey. He took a puff of his cigarette and blew the smoke away from her considerately, seeing the disappointment in her eyes.

"I-I think that you should go to bed, Draco," Hermione said in an emotionless voice. "I'll take care of the mess."

Draco sighed and then put out his cigarette, hating that he always ending up disappointing everyone who cared about him. He knew that she didn't deserve it but the next words came out bitterly and scornfully.

"Don't you dare pretend to act all nice to me, not after how you treated me earlier you little bitch. There's no _we_, no _us_, no _anything_! You aren't cleaning up my mess! You're the pregnant slut! You shouldn't even be doing anything that involves cleaning or walking or lifting heavy things…"

Before he knew it, he felt the pain reach his face and this just fueled his anger towards her and everything else. He grabbed her arm and twisted it hard, hearing her shoulder made a sick cracking sound and heard her scream out in pain as she gripped the counter to catch herself from falling.

"STOP! Please! Ow! Stop it!"

Draco threw her back down and watched her try to move her arm but let out a cry of pain again. Her cry made his heart sink and him sober up so fast it made his head spin. He knelt down, feeling sick with himself now as he looked at her arm that bent in a way that it probably shouldn't.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Granger. Let me help you," he said, gently trying to cradle her in his arms. She didn't fight him but he figured that it was because the pain was too excruciating that she didn't even realize what was going on anymore.

He apparated her into the same hospital she had gone to when she had been raped. Draco told the receptionist they were there and was told that a doctor would be out to help her momentarily. He watched as Hermione cried in agony and was careful not to touch her arm in any way that would hurt her.

Draco waited what felt like hours with Hermione, gently trying to soothe her to no avail. Finally a doctor came over to them.

"Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy?"

Draco stood up with her but then two doctors came by with a gurney and took Hermione from him before placing her on it. "Wait! Wait… I need to be in there with her."

The doctor placed a hand on Draco's chest and saw his bloodshot eyes and smelled the alcohol on his breath. "Whoa there, son. Now listen here; the police over there are going to keep an eye on you until we figure out what happened with her arm. She wouldn't have a dislocated shoulder and a broken arm just by falling down. You had something to do with this. We know you, and we know your father, Mr. Malfoy. What you may have done is a serious offense. We're going to fix her up and see what her side of the story is. Then we'll go from there and decide if you can be charged with assault against her."

He watched in dismay and shock as the doctor turned around and followed the other two to help Hermione. Draco cursed himself and then sat down, glancing over at the two policemen who were standing by the desk, glancing at him once in a while to make sure he hadn't gone anywhere. He needed help. Hurting Hermione might have sent him to jail, not to mention make him lose his job.

Then he decided he needed a friend right now more than anything. Draco took out his phone and dialed the only person he thought would help him.

"H-Hey, Harry. Yeah… umm, it's me. Draco. I'm in serious trouble."


	9. Control

**Karate Chic - Thank you so much for your review! It really means a lot since I'm not getting as many reviews as I wanted :)**

**Also, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this story or not since it seems like only 2 people like it. If you want me to continue it, review and let me know!  
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><p>Chapter Nine: Control<p>

…

Draco honestly hadn't expected Harry to pick up when he had called him, but was grateful when he did.

"What kind of trouble?"

Draco ran a hand through his hair and looked down at the floor. "It's a long story and I'd rather not explain it on the phone. Would you mind coming down?"

"I have a class to teach in an hour. I can't just drop everything and help you out of whatever trouble you got yourself in, Draco."

"I don't think it'll take an hour. Just… please come? They're ready to arrest me and everything right now. I'll explain everything when you get here."

There was a long bit of silence on Harry's end and for a minute, Draco thought that he had hung up on him. "Fine, alright. I'll see you a bit."

"Thank you, Harry," Draco said thankfully before he hung up. He put his phone back in his pocket and then started thinking about Hermione again. He prayed that she would be okay and he cursed himself a thousand times over for what he did. Draco was sober enough now to be absorbed in self hatred and guilt for his actions.

A doctor came out and Draco stood up, thinking that he was going to talk to him but instead, the doctor motioned to the cops to come over. His eyes widened now but the two cops walked over to the doctor instead and started talking to him.

At the moment, he saw a familiar face walk in the door and saw Harry start walking towards him, curiosity in his eyes. The police saw him too because they walked in between Draco and himself and put a hand out to stop Harry.

"Excuse me, sir. What is your association with the accused?"

Harry raised his eyes now and looked at Draco in frustration before he shook his head. "Regretfully, I am his friend. What did he do?"

"Unless someone can speak for him, he'll be arrested on charges of assault towards a Miss Hermione Granger."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise and shock before he shock an angry glance towards Draco. He looked back at the police. "Is she okay?"

"She has a dislocated shoulder and her arm is broken. Other than that, she just seems a bit shaken up, but that's understandable. If you want, you may speak with the accused now."

"Thank you," Harry said before he walked towards Draco and stopped inches from his face, anger in his eyes. "The only thing that is stopping me from hurting you right now are those cops over there."

Draco looked up at Harry and suddenly felt small and insignificant. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't let them arrest you and send you to jail."

Draco swallowed hard and felt his stomach sink. Maybe it would do him good to be sent to jail for awhile. At least that way, he couldn't hurt anyone except himself. He wouldn't be tormented by Daphne or alcohol again.

"I know I really fucked up this time. I didn't want to hurt her. I didn't know what I was doing until it was too late…"

Harry shook his head and smacked Draco upside the head hard, but not as hard as he wanted to. "I didn't fucking ask for excuses, Draco. I can see how you could get those two things confused since they fall under one category for you."

Draco rubbed the back of his head and felt like the lowest thing that was ever spawn from the grimy depths of the earth. Harry had always had that effect on him though. "I'm sorry, man. I really and truly am sorry for what I did to her. I hurt her, I know that. If I could take it back, I would. I care about her more than I've ever cared about anyone ever. She… she makes me not want to drink. She makes me want to be a better person."

"Oh really? Well now I'm going to guess that you were drinking last night. If she makes you not want to drink, then why the hell did you?"

There were so many reasons and so many excuses so he offered the one that might get his ass out of this mess. "I was angry at myself, at my father, and everything just came rushing at me at once. I was also around someone that has an endless amount of liquor in her house and she offered me some. I was an idiot and weak and said yes. I made a mistake that I regret. I shouldn't have come back home where Granger was staying. I should have stayed anywhere and not had come home until I was sober."

Harry searched Draco's eyes and saw true regret and sorrow laced in them. He knew about Draco's father and how he had beaten him. In fact, Harry had been the first person to consul this in Harry. He wanted to help Draco become something better than his father, but he couldn't let the anger towards Draco for hurting a friend escape him either.

"Hermione's coming back with me to the school. I'll be looking after her from now on."

Draco suddenly felt sick as he thought about how Hermione was pregnant and what her old ways were at the school in Hogsmeade. He was afraid of betraying Hermione's trust but he figured that since he had probably already done that, he had no other choice.

Harry must have seen the conflict in Draco's stormy eyes because he spoke again. "What is it?"

"S-She's… she's pregnant by the asshole who raped her."

He ran his hands through his raven hair and looked at Draco. "A-Are you sure?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah, I bought her a test, and she took it. Two pink lines. She was really upset about it and that was also one of the reasons why I hadn't been at home."

Harry sighed heavily now. "Alright, okay. I'll talk to her about that once I get her to my house. By the way, you're not visiting her. You'll just upset her more."

Draco felt the need to object at this point. "Wait, no. Please, let me see her… once a week, at least. I care about her."

"No, Draco. You don't care about anyone except yourself and your alcohol. You can't have a relationship with anyone unless you get over both of those things. She needs to live in a healthy environment and you just don't have one right now."

He swallowed hard and felt his chest tighten uncomfortably at the thought of not seeing Hermione. She had tried to help him get rid of the other bottles he had stashed in the house. She hadn't drunk in front of him in the restaurant near his house. Hermione had been nothing but considerate towards him and Draco hurt her. He hurt the only person who had ever cared about him.

"You can see her every two weeks. You better come sober though. If I see or smell that you've been drinking, then I'm not letting you see her," Harry finally reasoned with him.

Once every two weeks seemed unreasonable to Draco but it was better than nothing. "Alright, fine. W-What about the cops?"

Harry glanced over at them and back at Draco, sighing. "I'll talk to them and I'll speak for you. You're not going to jail this time."

Draco felt a weight lift off his shoulders and his stomach unknot slightly. "Thank you, Harry. Really."

"You're welcome, but you need to clean yourself up now. You need to get off the booze and get healthy again. Once you get clean and sober up, I'll let you see her more if she wants to see you."

Draco nodded and then watched Harry go over to the police and start talking about him. He listened to Harry say how Draco was a good guy who hadn't grown up in the best conditions with the best parents. Harry said how Draco wouldn't normally do things like this and how he had a moment of weakness. As he listened to Harry give the policemen reasons why they shouldn't arrest Draco, he knew that he had to somehow make this up to Harry.

Harry finally waved goodbye to the police and watched them leave the hospital. He walked over to Draco. "I'm going to go talk to Hermione and tell her the situation. I suggest you either go home or go to work and those two places better be the only places you go. Avoid anywhere that has alcohol, Draco. I don't want to see this shit again from you."

Draco felt like he was being scolded and warned by a father, not his father though; a real father who cared about his child. He nodded and then shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling a little sad that he couldn't say goodbye to Hermione, but walked out of the hospital anyway. He knew that he had gotten off lucky, and he wasn't going to mess this up.

_**OoOo**_

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Hermione looked up to see Harry walk into her room, her shoulder and upper arm in a brace and the rest of her arm in a cast. She shrugged; feeling conflicted about everything that had happened in the short amount of time.

"Okay, I guess. Where's Draco?"

Harry gently took her hand in his in a friendly way and sighed softly. "He was here, but he felt really bad about what he did to you. He didn't think you'd want to see him so he left."

Hermione just nodded, not really wanting to see Draco right now anyway. She bit her lip nervously and then looked up at him. "I… don't think I can face him right now. I don't want to go back."

"That's fine, Hermione. I have space at my house if you'd like to stay there for a bit?"

She thought about this for awhile and nodded, trusting Harry but just fearing that Ron would drop by. "All my things are at Draco's place," she said in a small voice.

"I know, don't worry about it. I'll get them after I drop you off at my house."

Hermione searched Harry's eyes and felt empty. She knew that Draco wasn't always like this, and knew it was natural for an alcoholic to feel temptation, and at times, even give into it. She felt like she wanted Draco here with her, but another part of her also didn't want to see him right now. Not because she was afraid of him, but afraid that Draco was angry with her. Maybe he blamed her for his giving into alcohol. She regretted how awful she had been to him earlier when he was only trying to help her. She looked at Harry and then bit her lip in thought.

"I-I have to tell you something. I'm pregnant…"

Harry didn't want to betray Draco entirely so he pretended to act surprised. "Do… you know whose it is?"

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed now and she looked at him. "Do you really think that I slept with Draco, like I'm that easy?"

He was surprised at her reaction and he shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't… mean it like that at all. I don't judge you, Hermione. You know that. Anything could have transpired between you and Draco though. He has changed, believe it or not."

"I know. I'm sorry, Harry. I just took what you said the wrong way. But no, it's not his. It's Sean's… the guy who raped me."

"Do you know what you want to do with it?"

Hermione thought for a bit but shook her head, still unsure. She knew she wanted a child but she didn't want it to be Sean's child. She didn't want one that was out of rape either; she knew it wasn't the child's fault for being a product of rape but Hermione wanted it to be from someone she loved, and didn't want to see her attacker's eyes and hate the child like she hated him. She wanted a child that was born out of love, with a man she loved.

"I'm still thinking about it. I know I should decide fairly soon before it's too late but… I really don't think I'm ready for a child quite yet."

Harry gently caressed her hand to comfort her and let her know that he was here for her. "I know. It's alright, Hermione. You don't have to decide right this minute or anything."

She gave Harry a weak smile and the two were silent for a few moments before she spoke first. "How long until I'm allowed to leave?"

"I talked to the doctor and he gave me some painkillers for your arm and shoulder and said you can leave when you're ready. Do you want to go now?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to leave now," Hermione answered as she put her legs over the side of the bed and then carefully stood up, suddenly feeling a little off balanced from only having control of one side of her upper body.

Harry lead her out of the hospital and then apparated them to his house in Hogsmeade. He had wanted to make sure that he wasn't far from the school in case of an emergency so he had bought a small house in Hogsmeade to stay close to what he had previously called a home for six years. Once they arrived at the house, he let her inside so she could make herself comfortable before he apparated in front of Draco's larger home.

Draco was no sooner inside his house when he heard a knock on the door. He half expected it to be the police from the hospital, thinking maybe Harry had a change of heart and had decided to have Draco arrested after all. He unlocked the door and opened it to see him.

"Hey, Draco. I need Hermione's things."

He looked around in hopes of seeing her behind him but no such luck. He nodded and moved aside before he opened the door wider so Harry could come inside.

"How is she?"

Harry walked inside and tried to make his way through the house in search of the room Hermione had stayed in while she was here. Draco pointed in the direction of her room and it was only when Harry walked inside it did he answer Draco's inquiry.

"She let me know about her pregnancy and she seemed disappointed that you weren't at the hospital anymore," he said as he started to pack up all of Hermione's things into her suitcase. "She has a shoulder brace and a cast for her arm that'll probably be on for a good month or so. Other than all that, she's fine."

Draco leaned against the door as he watched Harry, feeling ashamed of himself. He was silent for a long time, almost afraid to say anything as he felt that the urge to drink was as strong as ever without Hermione there with him anymore.

Harry finished packing and then looked up at Draco, seeing the weakness in his silver eyes and knew that was going on in his mind. He placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "You're stronger than alcohol, Draco. You can do this. You can make it through without drinking."

He looked down and felt his chest tighten again. "I don't feel like I can. Hermione helped me not want to drink. When she wasn't being stubborn, she was amazing. She motivated me to not drink. Now she's gone, and all I want to do is drink."

"She's not gone forever, and you'll still be able to see her. You need to get some control on this. Don't think about your father, alright, mate? You're not like him so don't try and become him."

Draco nodded in understanding, feeling like Harry was sort of becoming his sponsor that helped alcoholics when they felt tempted to drink. He was going to be alone in this big empty house and he knew he still had at least two hiding spots where he kept his alcohol.

"Thanks, Harry… for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Harry gently squeezed his shoulder and started to wheel Hermione's suitcase down the hallway before he stopped at the front door and turned around.

"Remember what I said. I'll tell Hermione that she'll see you in two weeks. Take care."

Draco ran a hand through his hair again and nodded. "Right, yeah. Take care, mate." Draco closed the door and felt himself starting to spiral downward into a black hole, left alone with his mind and his alcohol.


	10. Help

**Thank you EVERYONE for their reviews as well. I really do appreciate them. It's good to hear if a story is well liked and enjoyed. Now, onto the next chapter.**

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><p>Chapter Ten: Help<p>

…

"Besides the obvious, what's wrong?"

Hermione looked up from where she sat on Harry's couch. She had been looking down at her hands, looking upset and tired. She remained quiet for awhile before she carefully repositioned herself on the couch so her legs were on it now behind her.

"I miss him," Hermione spoke in a near whisper, feeling empty and cracked. "I know it's stupid and dumb but… I can't stop thinking about Draco. He needs help."

Harry ran a hand through his hair and then sat down beside her, resting his hand on her leg casually. "You're right. He does need help and I'm here for him if he needs me. That reminds me, I need to see him again. I have to talk to Draco about something."

She looked over at him. "About what?"

"He can't keep working as a Potions professor if he only shows up once a week. He needs to decide what he wants to do. If he can't keep a grip on his drinking, he's going to have to resign before the school fires him. There's no way he can work two jobs with his history of alcoholism."

Hermione bit her lip nervously and searched his face. "What if his drinking gets worse now because he feels bad that he hurt me?"

Harry stood up now and walked into his kitchen before he put the kettle on and turned the fire on underneath it. "That's another reason why I need to talk to him."

"Are you going to call him and tell him to come here to talk?"

To her disappointment, he shook his head before taking out two mugs. "I don't think it's a good idea for him to see you yet, especially if he's been drinking. I'll probably go to his house or if he's at the Ministry, I'll have to talk to him there. It shouldn't take too long though."

Hermione stood up and walked into the kitchen too before she sat down at the table, her arm still in a brace. She wasn't supposed to miss the man who hurt her. She wasn't supposed to like him, even after what he did. Hermione couldn't help her feelings for him though and she was just grateful that Harry wasn't questioning her about them.

"Alright, I'll be here when you get back."

"I know you will. I'm going to have Ron come over and watch over you until I get back," Harry said, pouring the boiling water into the mug over the tea bags.

This surprised and just about put fear into Hermione. "N-No… are you kidding me, Harry? After he hurt me in my apartment?"

Harry's eyebrows lifted now and searched her eyes. "He what?"

"You… didn't know? Draco didn't tell you? Ron came into my house when Draco was working and he broke my lamp before he proceeded to slap me and then tell me how no one would ever want me."

Harry sighed in frustration and shook his head. "I can't believe he did that. I mean, I believe you, but… he's my friend. I guess I'm not going to call him to watch you."

She took her mug and set it down on the table. "Why do I need watching over at all?"

"What if Draco beat me here before I could go see him because he wanted to see you so badly, and what if he was drunk? I know he has a good side to him but he could seriously hurt you worse than you already are if he resents you for coming here with me. Or… what if Ron stopped by to talk to me, not knowing you were here and if he got angry all over again at you?"

Hermione could see his point now and just nodded in understanding. "So… can I come with you?"

Harry took a sip of his tea before he thought about this. It might just torture Draco more at the thought of seeing her but not being able to see her for long, but if Hermione was left alone at Harry's, Ron might come or she might accidentally fall and hurt her arm more, and no one would be there. He didn't really want Ginny to come in case Ron used that excuse to come as well.

"Alright, you can come with me. I don't really want you to be in the same room with Draco without me though. I don't know how he's going to be."

Hermione agreed and drank some of her own tea. She felt content again. She just hoped that he was sober and in a good state of mind. She waited until they had both finished their tea before she changed and met Harry by the door.

He apparated them to Draco's house and knocked tentatively before stepping back and waiting for Draco.

Hermione heard noises coming from inside and felt nervous again. She instinctively stepped behind Harry in case Draco had been drinking. Harry held out his hand for her to take to help relax her just as Draco opened the door.

Harry saw his eyes were red, almost as if he had been crying, but they also looked a bit bloodshot. He searched his face knowingly but he could tell that he wasn't as drunk anymore.

"Can we come in? I need to talk to you about something."

Draco was hesitant to let him in until he saw Hermione and then remembered Harry had said 'we.' He opened the door wider now and stepped back, closing it when the two had walked inside. Harry looked around and saw the house was in a slight disarray, and saw an opened bottle of firewhiskey on the counter in the kitchen.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Harry sighed at the sight of Draco, having a feeling that he would be drunk. "About the jobs you're not going to, mostly. I know that you spent most of your dad's money on this house so I know that you need more than one job to pay the bills."

Draco stumbled slightly and sat on the stool in front of his bottle, glancing at Hermione once in awhile. "Yeah, your point is what?"

Harry protectively stood in front of Hermione still, afraid that Draco might fly off the handle. "My point is that you can't teach a class at the school if you keep drinking. Look at yourself, Draco. You may be able to get away with working at the Ministry but you can't be around the students like this. You're a danger to yourself and them!"

Hermione gently held onto Harry's shirt, no longer wanting to be around Draco when he's been drinking. She couldn't believe how he was a different person when he was sober. This wasn't him. This was a monster in Draco's clothes.

"I need to work! I need the money so I can keep living here! In case you haven't noticed, the bills cost a lot."

Harry shook his head in disgust at his friend. "If you don't resign from your position, I'm going to tell the rest of the staff that you are unfit to teach and they'll fire you."

Draco's eyes became soft and weak now, the anger flushing out of them and being replaced by fear. He set the bottle down and ran his hands through his hair. "No… no, please no… I want to teach still! Don't tell them…"

"If you don't stop drinking, I'm going to have to, Draco. I'm sorry, but you need to realize that you need help. You can't keep digging at the bottom of a bottle every time things don't go your way or you have a bad day. You have to pull yourself together. Now, are you going to be at the castle tomorrow to teach your Potions class?"

Draco's chest felt tight at the possibility that he might lose his job if he didn't stop drinking. He loved this house and he didn't want to suddenly become homeless because he spent more money on his booze than on his bills. He wanted to teach and be around Harry at the school, but he couldn't just stop at the drop of a dime either. He would have urges to drink as soon as he stopped. He knew the withdrawal symptoms of becoming clean again. Draco found that he was scared of these symptoms and he remembered them from months ago when he became clean for the first time.

"Y-Yes… yeah, I'll… I'll be there."

Harry took Draco's bottle of whiskey and, while motioning for Hermione to follow him, walked into the kitchen and poured the copper colored whiskey down the sink drain. "That didn't sound very sure."

Draco took a deep breath and put is face in his hands. "I just don't know if I can do this… not drink all day at the school tomorrow. I mean, it's only for a couple hours, right? What if I can't do it, Harry?"

He walked back over to Draco and put a hand on his shoulder. "You can do it, I'll help you. It'll be okay. I'm your friend and I'll help you through this."

Draco let out a soft sigh and rubbed the back of his neck, fearing the potential loss of a good paying job at the school. He wanted to change; he knew he had to, for Hermione. When he looked up at her finally, he saw the tinge of fear in her eyes and this alone was enough for him to decide to change himself.

"Okay, thank you… I-I know I don't deserve your help but thank you," he said in a weak voice now.

Harry finished draining the whiskey bottle and then looked at him. "It's fine, Draco. Now, if I don't see you tomorrow at nine, I'm going to call and check on you. If you don't come in tomorrow at all, I'm not going to help you keep your teaching position," Harry said, putting his hand up when he saw Draco's face drop and succumb to fear. "I'm giving you one chance to fight against the urges to drink tonight. If you can make it through the whole night and morning with any alcohol, I'll help you keep your job as long as you still come to the school and teach."

Draco waited until his friend was done explaining himself before he finally nodded, knowing that he couldn't argue against him. He didn't know anyone who would help him like Harry was going to. Unable to find his words now, he just nodded in agreement and understanding.

"Good. Now, I'm going to take Hermione back to my place and if you need me, if you're feeling tempted to go to a bar, call me. I can be where you are in a second, okay?"

When Harry saw Draco nod again, he gave him a soft smile and placed his hand on Hermione's back. "Okay, I hope to see you at the school tomorrow, Draco."

He bit his lip and ran a hand through his blonde hair but looked into Harry's emerald eyes. "You will. I-I promise…"

Harry didn't plan to hold him to his promise and just gave him a nod before he lead Hermione out of the large house and then apparating her back to his apartment. Once they had entered, Harry was about to walk into the kitchen when he felt Hermione grab his arm gently.

"What's up?"

Hermione was quiet for what felt like ages before she finally spoke, the wheels turning in her head as she seemed to contemplate everything imaginable all at once. Harry saw how conflicted her eyes looked and he began to get worried.

"W-What do you think I should… do with the… t-the baby?"

Harry was taken aback by this question and he placed a hand on her good arm as they stood in front of each other. "You know, Hermione, this is your baby. This is your child, and it's your body. I don't have the right to tell you what you should do with it but… I am going to say that you should really think about it when you do decide. Think about it long and hard because… this is going to be a permanent decision that may affect you for the rest of your life."

She seemed to relax slightly and took a deep breath before letting it out again. She looked up at him and smiled weakly. "Thank you, Harry. I really needed to hear that right now."

Harry gave her a gentle hug, being careful of her bad shoulder and arm before he kissed her forehead in a friendly matter and then pulled away. "I'm always here for you, Mia."

She smiled a bit more at the nickname he had for her and nodded. "I know, thank you so much. I just wish that… there was something I could do for you."

Harry turned around as he had started walking towards his room and looked at her, a slight smirk on his face. "Help me get Draco clean again."

Hermione could tell that he was serious but she knew this was going to be a challenge and that Harry might not be able to do it alone. She had seen Draco clean and how he had seemed like a completely different person. She wanted that person back.

"I will. I'll help you with Draco."


	11. DTs

So I just need your opinions on something. Are you guys okay reading up to chapter fifteen, chapter sixteen, chapter seventeen, etc? Or should I end this story soon and start a sequel, or just a whole new one altogether? I really am not sure what I want to do.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about this! Thank you! 

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><p>Chapter Eleven: DTs<p>

…

Draco woke up the next morning with heaviness in his chest as he thought about how he'd have to go the day without a drop of alcohol. This thought almost made him not want to get out of bed and knowing how pathetic that thought was, he forced himself up and got in the shower. The only thing that was helping him do this was Hermione. He knew that she could help him but first, he had to get back on her good side.

After he showered and got dressed, he grabbed his bag with his books and papers that he'd need and then apparated on the Grounds of the school before he opened the door into the Entrance Hall and started towards the faculty lounge. He ignored the uneasy looks from the other professors and was grateful when he finally made it inside the lounge.

"Hey, you showed up!"

Draco looked up to see Harry walk inside with Hermione at his side, her arm no longer in a cast but the shoulder brace was still on. Guilt started to eat away at him again and he made sure that he didn't look at her for too long.

"Yeah, I made it. Do you think we could do without the patronizing?" Draco gave a small smirk so Harry didn't think that he was upset at him.

"Alright, I'll stop. How are you feeling? Do you think you can teach your class today?"

Draco shrugged and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I kind of have to, don't I? If I want to keep my job and all…."

"Well I just want to make sure that you're not going to break out into delirium tremors or anything midway through the class."

Draco chuckled and shook his head. "Please, give me some credit. I wouldn't say I'm a full blown alcoholic yet. I don't have DTs; I just have urges now and again for liquor. I think I'll make it."

Harry smiled and patted his hand on Draco's back encouragingly. "Great. I'm going to drop Hermione off at the library and then I'm going to sit in on your class. Afterwards, I figured we could go down to Hogsmeade and stop at The Three Broomsticks for lunch."

Hermione smiled softly at Harry, nodding and then glanced at Draco before biting her lip nervously. She missed the old him and wanted him back, but she didn't know if he might fly off the handle at any given moment because of his alcohol withdrawal.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll meet you in the Dungeons."

Harry nodded and then led Hermione out before starting down the corridor towards the Library. Draco poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip before he took a deep breath, already thinking about using magic to conquer a small bottle of firewhiskey to add to his morning brew. He pushed the thought out of his head and then finished his coffee semi-quickly before making his way down to the Dungeons.

He listened to the passing students discuss their worries about the upcoming Defense Against the Dark Arts test and other students were already talking about who their date would be for the Christmas Ball at the school. Draco entered his classroom and got out his book and the papers he had graded, mentally making a note to re-teach how to make a Deflating draught.

"Still feeling alright?"

There were still a few minutes before class was supposed to start so Draco was surprised when he heard a voice but then realized it was Harry. He looked at him skeptically. "Are you going to ask me that every time you see me?"

"I'm sorry for caring, Draco. Would you rather I just ignore you for the entire day? Cut me some slack. I'm just trying to help you," Harry replied, sitting down on the bench in the first row.

"I know," Draco was quiet for a few moments before he spoke again. "What about your class? Don't you have it at the same time as mine?"

"I have a substitute filling in for me, Neville, to be exact."

Draco laughed softly and shrugged. "Well, I have to say he's gotten better and he's not as clumsy with a wand as he was in our first year."

"He's really good now. It's amazing how far he's come. Well, I'll just sit over here in the corner and let you do your job," Harry said as students starting piling into the classroom. "If you need me, let me know."

"Okay, thank you, Professor Potter," Draco smirked.

Harry smirked back and rolled his eyes before he walked over to Draco's desk in the corner of the front of the room and sat down.

"Alright, settle down now. Class is about to start. Now, your tests were average but some of you still need to work on your Deflating draught. We'll practice doing that in class today…"

Harry watched Draco put everyone into groups of three around cauldrons and listened to him talk to each group individually. As Draco walked over to another group, Harry noticed that his hands were shaking slightly and even though the dungeons were chilly, there were beads of sweat on Draco's forehead. He was wrong. He was having delirium tremors from the sudden withdrawal. He sat back in the chair, sighing to himself now, unable to wait until Draco finished his class but somehow managed to.

"Hey, are you feeling okay, man?"

Draco wiped his forehead on his teaching robe sleeve now and looked at Harry. "No, I really don't. I'm feeling a bit nauseous and my hands won't stop shaking…"

Harry watched as the classroom began to empty and then looked at Draco. "Alright, I have a new plan. I don't think this is going to work if you try to stop drinking all at once, so… I'm going to moderate your alcohol intake, a little each day until we can wean you off of it for good."

"That sounds great and all but I feel like I'm going to die right now. Why don't you go get Hermione and I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I won't take long," Draco promised before he gave Harry a gentle squeeze on his shoulder and then hurried out of the classroom before he made it into a staff bathroom and headed for one of the stalls just in time to empty his stomach of the coffee he had had this morning.

Harry watched his friend leave and ignored the pit of worry in his stomach to go find Hermione in the depths of the library. He looked around, seeing books magically floating in the air and being put in their proper place on the shelves.

"Hermione?" He called out in a soft whisper.

"Over here," she answered but walked over to Harry before he could reach her first. "How did he do?"

Harry sighed and rubbed the back of his neck and looked at her. "Well he didn't drink. He's starting to have tremors from withdrawal. He said he wasn't feeling well, like he was going to going throw up."

Hermione looked at him in confusion. "Withdrawal symptoms? It hasn't even been a full day since he had alcohol…."

"I know, but the symptoms usually don't take long to start for an alcoholic. Their body has grown so tolerant of the alcohol that it just craves more."

"How do you know so much about alcoholism and withdrawal? Are you a doctor too?" Hermione half joked.

Harry shrugged and smiled. "It helps to have friends who are doctors. Dean went on to work as a doctor at St. Mungo's Hospital. I visited him just about every other day up until… I stopped by your place."

Hermione bit her lip and looked down, suddenly feeling guilty. "Umm… where did you tell Draco we'd meet him?"

"Oh, right. The Entrance Hall… we should probably go and see if he's there yet," Harry replied, not caring that she had ignored what he had just said. His worry for Draco grew and he figured it'd be a good idea to see how he was faring.

When they arrived in the Entrance Hall, they saw Draco leaning against the front doors, his hair matted in sweat and his skin color looking several shades paler than normal. He hurried over to Draco and gently tugged on his arm to see his whole body.

"Were you sick?"

Draco nodded and swallowed hard, his tremors getting worse by the minute. He saw the fear in Harry's eyes and he looked at him in the eye. "D-Don't take me to hospital. T-Take me home…"

"No, you don't understand. I… I don't know where to go from here. You need a doctor!"

Draco held his stomach in pain now and let out a groan. "H-Hermione…."

She looked from Draco and then up to Harry. "Take him to his house. He has a personal doctor we can call!"

Harry heard the distress in her voice and could tell she was just as fearful as he was so he didn't argue. He wrapped his arm around Draco to support him and walked out of the castle before he apparated the three of them inside Draco's house.

Hermione felt her heart pounding a mile a minute as Harry had to pretty much carry Draco down the hall to his bedroom. She followed him and helped Harry lay Draco down on top of the covers, feeling scared for him.

"Oh… t-this is great… I'll b-be on my death b-bed…"

"You're not going to die from the tremors. We're going to call your doctor. Where's his number?"

Draco struggled as he pulled out his cell phone with shaking hands and handed it to Harry. Hermione anxiously started to pace and then started to see terror fill Draco's eyes as he held his chest and looking like he was struggling to breathe. She ran over to him sat down on the bed.

"What's wrong, Draco? Are you having trouble breathing?"

Harry was preoccupied talking to Draco's doctor on his phone to know what was going on.

"I-I don't know… a-a little… my chest… it feels really tight…"

Hermione looked over at Harry now, having no idea what to do. "Harry! Help me!"

Harry held up a finger to say "one second" and then went back to describing Draco's symptoms to the doctor. He finally hung up and then hurried back over to him.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know but he said he's having trouble breathing and his chest feels tight."

Harry stood up again and then walked into the bathroom before he grabbed a washcloth and wet it in cold water before going back over to them. He started to gently pat Draco's face with the cool washcloth and watched his friend begin to relax again.

"How's that? Are you feeling a bit better now?"

Draco's breathing returned to normal and he nodded, grateful to feel the cold cloth on his hot skin. He relaxed against the bed except for his trembling hands that were by Hermione.

"What happened?"

Harry glanced up at her as he continued to pat Draco's face. "He's having panic attacks. It's another symptom of delirium tremors… the doctor will be here shortly."

Hermione nodded in understanding and tried to calm herself down by taking Draco's quivering hand in her own. "Did you hear that, Draco? The doctor's going to be here soon and he'll help you…"

Draco just nodded weakly and gently squeezed her hand with his, feeling hope fill his soul again just knowing that she was there with him. There was silence between the three of them for several minutes before they hear the doctor apparate inside the room.

Harry stood up and got out of the way so the doctor could look at Draco. He gently touched Hermione's shoulder and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Come on, Mia. Let's go make some tea."

She whimpered slightly as she forced herself to let go of Draco's hand and stood up as the doctor started to examine him. Harry led her out of the room and sighed as they closed the bedroom door behind them.

"How long will the tremors last for? It's like… he's suffering…"

Harry filled the kettle with water and lit the burner underneath it. "He'll be okay. The doctor will probably give him something and the symptoms will go away. I was thinking at first that we had to slowly wean him off the alcohol but now I'm thinking that we should just keep him sober as long as possible so he doesn't end up having more tremors, and we have to make sure he doesn't take the meds with alcohol."

Hermione hopped up and sat on the counter, her small body hardly taking up any room. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and ran her fingers through her long hair. "So we'll have to watch him twenty-four hours a day?"

Harry nodded slowly and gently put his hands on her knees to comfort her. "Pretty much. It'll be okay though. You'll always be here when I'm at the school - "

"Wait, what about his job? Is he going to be fired?"

"He hasn't drunk while he was teaching and I think it can be filed under medical reasons. I'll talk to the Headmaster and see if he can find a substitute to teach Draco's Potions class until he gets better again. I'll make it work out."

Hermione smiled softly at him. "Thank you. You're a really great friend, Harry."

"It helps to have another great friend to support you," Harry smirked and then shut the burner off when he heard the kettle start to scream and then poured the hot water over two teabags just as the doctor walked in.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy does have delirium tremors most likely from his recent alcohol binges. I'm prescribing him diazepam and lorazepam. The diazepam will treat his anxiety, any insomnia he might have in the upcoming days, and the alcohol withdrawal; the lorazepam is similar but it will also act as a sedative to calm him down as well, which goes hand in hand with treating the insomnia."

Harry watched the doctor hand him two orange bottles with small pills in them. He took them and set them on the counter before turning back to the doctor. "Any side effects I should know about?"

The doctor sighed to himself now and nodded, both gestures not giving Hermione or Harry a lot of relief. "For the lorazepam, there's the possibility of increased aggression in individuals, addiction of the drug itself, an increased risk of depression and suicidal behaviors. For the diazepam, depression can occur as well, dizziness, nausea… but the side effects are worth it. Without these drugs, he can die from delirium tremors. It will literally drive him insane and he'll see things that aren't even there. I should also tell you that the hallucinations are more likely to happen at night, that is, without the drugs. He'll hallucinate that he's seeing insects or bugs when there aren't any. It's a common symptom of DTs. The bottles should last you two weeks. I don't suggest continuing to give him the medications for more than three weeks. After your bottles run out, call me and I'll come and check him out."

Hermione was about to say something but Harry shook the doctor's hand goodbye and watched him apparate out. He turned to Hermione who looked like she might cry from all this new information and searched her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Draco's being given these medications that could actually give him depression, if he doesn't have it already, and he didn't even give us anything to counter his depression from these medications? The side effects seem worse than what he actually has!"

"I know… but he's not going to be on the medication for a long period of time or anything, only a couple weeks, so we'll just have to monitor him and keep an eye on him. If we see him becoming depressed or suicidal, we'll tell the doc. We have to get rid of his DTs, and these meds will help him."

Hermione wanted to object more but she honestly felt too exhausted from worrying about Draco to argue with Harry. She just nodded and looked down at her lap. Harry handed her mug of tea to her and then took a sip of his before he set it back down.

"I'm going to get our things from my place and I'll be right back, okay?"

"Alright," Hermione sipped her tea and held it in her hands, a part of her wanting to stay with Draco to help him. She set her mug on the counter and then got off of it before she looked up at Harry. "When do you think we should give Draco his medication?"

Harry picked up the orange bottles and read the labels. "We'll give him two milligrams of lorazepam in the morning and about four milligrams of diazepam tomorrow afternoon. He might be sedated for most of the day unless the side effects kick in but at least it'll help his withdrawal, and thereby it will also help his tremors."

"What about tonight? What if he can't sleep?"

Harry sighed, unsure what to do but also not wanting to endanger Draco's health in the process. "We can give him one milligram of diazepam and that will help his insomnia."

Hermione seemed satisfied with this answer and Harry took this chance to go to his place to gather his things. She walked down the hallway towards her old room Draco had let her stay in but she gently opened Draco's bedroom door slowly and peeked inside to see if he was okay. He didn't lift his head up but he waved weakly to her. She smiled at him and waved back.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to disturb you. I was just heading to bed."

Draco shook his head and forced himself to sit up even though his body felt exhausted from all the trembling and being sick. He smiled weakly at her. "I'm sorry that I've been scaring you lately, Granger. I never wanted you to see this side of me."

Hermione walked in closer to him. "I just want you to get better… it hurts me to see you like this. I want you back to your old self so we can go places and… hang out again."

Draco smiled at her a bit brighter and reached out to her, his hand still trembling. Hermione took his hand in hers and held it. "Harry and I will help you through this," she said softly.

He chuckled now but gently squeezed her hand affectionately. "Oh for Merlin's sake, I'm not dying yet. You guys can stop treating me like I have cancer or something," he laughed softly.

This made her chuckle now and she brushed her hair out of her eyes. "If you can't sleep, go see Harry. He'll give you something to help you."

"Alright, Granger. Get some sleep and stop crying on my behalf," he half kidded, just wanting her to smile again. He let go of her hand when she did smile a little and lay back down.

She waved to him and then shut his door behind her before she walked into her room. Hermione didn't have anything to change into so she just laid on her bed in her clothes and closed her eyes, wanting all of this to be over.


	12. Independent

**I am SO sorry I went on a hiatus for so long without updating. I had a lot of college stuff to take care of. I appreciate all for your replies to my question! I won't end this story yet. **

**For those of you who are still "following" my story, I'm very grateful. I know it can be frustrating to be following a story and then have them never update again. I apologize if I've lost anyone but just as you do, I also have a life.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Twelve: Independent<p>

…

Hermione woke up a few hours later to see a face looking at her in the dark. She reached out to touch it, thinking it was Harry but then a hand touched her own and she realized it didn't feel like Harry's. It felt too rough. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sighed tiredly.

"Draco….?"

"I'm sorry if I woke you but… I-I can't sleep."

Hermione pulled the covers off of her body and sat up, realizing just how close Draco had been to her in the darkness, but wasn't afraid. She leaned over and turned on her light before she looked at him. "Isn't Harry back yet?"

Draco bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair. "If he had been here, I would have asked him instead of waking you up at one in the morning. How long has he been gone?"

She stood up and felt worry in the pit of her stomach. "He should have been back by now. He left a few hours ago to get our things from his apartment. Umm… besides not being able to sleep, how are you feeling? Any hallucinations or shaking or anything?"

Draco searched her face and shook his head, shrugging. "Not yet… I just… can't sleep but I feel really exhausted."

Hermione gave him a weak smile and then gently took his hand to lead him out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. She let go of his hand casually to get a white tablet from the orange pill bottle. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water before she handed both to Draco.

"Swallow this. It'll help with your insomnia," she replied in a soft voice, still worried about Harry and still feeling somewhat tired herself.

Draco looked at the medication and then felt hesitant. "I can… wait, if you want… at least until Harry comes home."

Hermione smiled softly at him now but didn't want him to not sleep in his state. He needed all the sleep he could get, but then again, what if something had happened to Harry? She didn't mean to overreacted and jump to conclusions but she had the horrible feeling that something just wasn't right. She set the water and pill down before she nodded. "I'm going to call Harry."

Draco leaned against the counter, feeling warm but not really feeling much of anything other than that. He took a sip of the water as she walked down the hallway to her room and grabbed her cell phone. She dialed Harry's number and paced as it rang.

_One ring. _

_ Two rings._

_ Three rings._

_ Four rings._

_ Five rings._

Something definitely wasn't right. He never took this long to answer his phone, no matter where he was. She could hear her heart racing in her ears and sighed, not even getting his voicemail. She hung up and looked at Draco was rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"You need to get some sleep, Draco. In your condition, you can't afford to be out of bed right now."

Draco looked at her and shook his head, already knowing what was going through her head. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you go search for him alone. You're going to get yourself killed, Granger. Come on, we're wasting time. We need to go now."

He started to walk towards the door but she saw that he was shaking as he walked. Hermione hurried after him and grabbed his arm. "Stop! Draco, you need to go back to bed. I can take care of myself!"

He sneered at her for the first time since they had been at school. "Oh right, that's so clear, because you really took care of yourself when that bastard raped you and impregnated you as well!"

Hermione knew that he was just saying these cruel things because of the alcohol withdrawal, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt any less. She looked at him with conflicted eyes. She couldn't deal with him right now. Time was wasting and Harry could be hurt at his apartment, if he had even made it there. She pulled out her phone and reluctantly dialed Ginny's number.

"Ginny, hey… it's me," Hermione replied as her friend picked up. "Umm, I need a favor but I need you to do it quickly. Something's happened and… I need you to come here, at Draco's new place, and watch him for a bit."

Hermione glanced over at Draco who was looking helpless and crestfallen before she continued to speak to Ginny. "Yeah, his house is in London, about an hour away. Thank you so much. I owe you."

"Great," Draco said after she hung up. "I get a babysitter so you can go and kill yourself. You won't find him without my help!"

Hermione flinched slightly as he yelled and she found herself craving another cigarette. She cursed him under her breath and then grabbed the water glass and handed him the pill and the glass. "Just take it. Ginny will be here shortly and I don't want you to give her shit."

"Granger, this is suicide. You need my help!"

Now she was starting to feel angry and frustrated herself and couldn't contain herself any longer. "No I don't! I can do this on my own. I don't need rescuing and I'm a big girl, Draco! Just take the damn pill and shut up!"

Hermione felt angry tears in her eyes now but she didn't hold them back. She could tell her outburst surprised him and he hadn't expected it because guilt started to lace in his eyes. Draco put the pill on his tongue and swallowed it with the water before he set the glass back down.

"Thank you…"

Draco just nodded and started to walk down the hall to his bedroom. Hermione took a deep breath just as there was a knock on the door. She walked over to it and was grateful to see Ginny.

"Your brother doesn't know that you're here, right?"

She shook her head. "Right, he doesn't know. I know you're in a rush but will you at least promise me to fill me in on what's going on when you come back?"

Hermione nodded and ran her hands through her hair before she threw her coat on. "I will. Just check on Draco every half hour or so. If he's shaking, just give him one of the white pills and he should be alright. Put a charm on him in case he tries to leave the house."

"Okay, I'll… see you in a bit, I guess."

Hermione hugged her friend appreciatively before she apparated out and headed towards Harry's apartment. When she arrived, worry instantly filled her when she saw all the lights were off inside. She knew if there was any time she wanted to use magic, that time was now and she was currently cursing herself under her breath for not bringing her wand with her. She opened her cell phone to use the light on the inside and started up the stairs of the apartment to go into Harry's place.

As she ascended the stairs, she felt her heart pounding against her ribcage in fear and hesitation. When she reached Harry's door, she swore she could hear rustling inside but no words. Hermione took a deep breath and slowly opened the door, her eyes searching quickly for any sign of Harry.

"Hermione! Watch out!"

Hermione spun around in time to feel someone tackle her to the ground and then stand up before he pointed his wand at her. She breathed heavily when she saw Ron and then wondered why Harry couldn't help her.

"I knew you'd come. You always come to the rescue of your boyfriend here…"

She saw his cold eyes by the dim light of his wand and felt her stomach churn uncomfortably. "Ron, please… he's not my boyfriend… please don't do this."

Ron Weasley's laughter filled the room now and just made her feel even more uncomfortable. She glanced over to look for Harry but then felt something hard kick her in the face. The taste of copper and metallic filled her mouth now and she coughed to try to get it out of her throat.

"Ron, stop it! Don't hurt her!"

Hermione felt shock that he would kick her like that, especially now that she was pregnant. She rolled over and spit the blood from her mouth onto the floor before she looked over at Harry now who was bound with rope and was sitting on the kitchen floor in the dark. She was starting to lose hope quickly now and began to regret not bringing Draco along with her.

"I will do whatever the fuck I want to her! This is all her own goddamn fault, just like everything she's ever done since graduation has been! She's a whore and she deserves to be punished for what she's done!"

Hermione flinched as he yelled, the pain only just reaching her shoulder blade again. She placed her hand on her stomach and began to feel scared, not only for herself, but also for the unborn child living inside of her.

"Ron, please; You don't have to do this," Hermione spoke gently to him. "Just let us go."

She watched Ron smirk and shake his head before she felt him grab a hold of her hair and started to drag her out of the living room. Hermione screamed now and tried to catch anything with her hands or fingernails to stop him from dragging her.

"Hermione!" Hermione heard Harry scream in the kitchen.

She suddenly took her hand and started clawing Ron's hands and arms with all her strength. "LET ME GO!"

"Ah, fucking bitch!"

When she felt him let her go, she reacted quickly and then grabbed his wand from Ron's one hand and pointed it at him threateningly, her adrenaline to survive starting to kick in. "Get the fuck out of here, Ron… or so help me, I will kill you!"

"This isn't over, Hermione. I'll come back for you…."

Hermione shook her head in disbelief and then felt anger swell inside of her. "GET OUT! If you dare to find me, Draco or Harry or myself will either call the police or we'll kill you ourselves," she spoke coldly, still tasting the blood on her lips.

"You can act like you have your tough shell all you want, baby, but I know how you really are," Ron said just as coldly and almost threateningly before he apparated out.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief at his disappearing and then hurried into the kitchen and turned on the light. She grabbed a knife from the drawer and cut his binds.

"Are you crazy, Mia? He could have really hurt you…"

Harry pulled off the ropes and then stood up before he began to examine her. She looked at him with soft eyes now. "I would have thought you'd be proud of my bravery. I just saved both of us from his psychotic mind."

He gave her a weak smile and then placed a lock of her messy hair behind her ear. "I am, really. Thank you, Hermione. I knew I'd eventually rub off on you."

Hermione rolled her eyes and then realized she still had Ron's wand. She snapped it sharply in half and then threw it in the garbage before she turned to him. "Oh please, Harry. Don't act like I haven't been saving our asses since our first year," she said with a playful smirk.

He chuckled now and then walked into the bedroom to grab their things. When he came back, he turned to her. "Did you leave Draco alone?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I…I called Ginny to help watch him while I went searching for you," she answered, half guiltily.

Harry sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair. "We'd better get back. Are you okay enough to apparate?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go," she said eagerly, worried now that maybe Ron had decided to stop at Draco's house to hurt him too.

Harry grabbed her hand and apparated to Draco's place with their suitcases. When they arrived, Ginny walked over to Hermione and her eyes widened when she saw the bruises already forming on Hermione's face.

"Oh my god… what the hell happened, Hermione…?"

"I'm okay, Gin. I'll live. I just had a run in with your brother at Harry's apartment. He'll never be happy until I'm done and gone."

Ginny's cheeks began to redden in embarrassment of her brother. "I'm so sorry, Hermione."

She instantly started shaking her head and wrapped her arms around her. "No, please. Don't you dare be sorry. This wasn't your fault. Ron's an adult and you can't control anything he does."

Ginny hugged her tightly and then gave her a grateful smile before she pulled herself together now and looked at Harry. "Are you okay? Did my brother hurt you too?"

Harry shook his head and shrugged. "Nah, I'm fine. How's Draco doing?"

"Umm… he's okay. I've been checking in on him and he's just been asleep. Can someone please fill me in now on what happened to him?"

Hermione glanced over at Harry before she looked back at Ginny. "Draco was… an alcoholic, and Harry and I are trying to help him stop drinking but… he's been having withdrawals from the alcohol. He's been getting delirium tremors and insomnia so we called his doctor and he gave us some medications for him."

"Is… he still teaching at the school?"

Harry looked at Ginny now and sighed. "I'm going to talk to the Headmaster tomorrow and tell him the situation and I'm hoping that we can find someone to substitute for Draco and have him be on medical leave for awhile until he's better."

She nodded now in understanding and bit her lip, feeling like she's been overstepping her place. "Do you still need me… or…"

"Why don't you just stay the night? It's late and I don't want Ron to take his anger out on you. You can go back to your place in the morning," Harry offered.

Ginny smiled now and looked at him. "Are you sure? You already have Draco here. I don't want to overstep my bounds."

"Not at all. This _is _Draco's house so technically Hermione and I are overstepping our bounds by being here. I don't think he'd mind one more person," Harry chuckled.

"Thank you, so much, Harry. I'll do what I can to help you guys out with him. Hermione, is… it alright if I borrow some of your clothes?"

"Of course you can. I'll make up the couch for you. It's so big, it's practically a bed anyway," Hermione chuckled softly, hearing Ginny join in.

Harry watched Hermione put the pillows on one of the overstuffed couches for her friend and then grab several blankets from the top of the couches. He was about to invite Hermione to stay in his room but was afraid of sounding too forward and having her get the wrong idea. He quietly walked away from the girls, wanting to give them peace and time to catch up. Harry opened Draco's door slightly and saw that he was sleeping still so he silently closed the door and went back to his own room, knowing he would need energy to get through the next couple of weeks.


	13. Madness

Chapter Thirteen: Madness

...

Hermione opened her eyes when she remembered that Ginny had slept over. She didn't want to alienate Ginny just because she was taking care of Draco. It had been a long time since her and Ginny had genuinely hung out but she still knew that in their heart of hearts, they were still as close as ever.

She stood up and ran her hand sleepily through her messy hair and walked over to the bathroom. Hermione undressed and showered somewhat quickly, eager to check on Draco and go make sure Ginny was okay as well. She shut the water off once she had rinsed the dirt from last night off of her and then heard feet walk inside her bathroom. She froze for a few moments, her heart racing as she squeezed the excess water out of her hair.

"Gin?" Hermione asked hopefully. "Is that you?"

Hermione heard a chuckle and sighed, already getting her answer. She grabbed her bigger towel and then wrapped it around her small frame before she opened the shower curtain to see Harry. A wave of relief swept over her, feeling grateful it hadn't been Draco.

"Is there something you need?"

Hermione continued to look into her eyes and when she looked up at him, she saw a trace of worry in his own eyes. She began to towel dry her hair but looked at him in the mirror.

"What's wrong?"

Harry's face became serious now and he looked down at the ground first before he walked over to her and looked at her in the mirror too. "You're looking really… frail… have you been eating anything lately?"

"Between trying to get Draco back to normal and rescuing you from the grips of Ginny's brother, no; I haven't had the time to really sit down and eat anything," she answered with a slight tone of bitterness.

"Hermione, you have to eat. You have a child inside of your body, and… your body is already small enough as it is. It can't live off your anxiety and stress. Let me make you breakfast," Harry offered.

She bit her lip and shook her head. Hermione didn't forget there was a living breathing creature inside of her stomach. How could she? But it was still at least three weeks into the pregnancy, and she knew she had to make a decision semi quickly. She couldn't support it. Hell, she could barely support herself. Hermione wasn't emotionally or mentally ready for this and she had too many people to take care of right now. A child was going to be a heavy responsibility that she wasn't ready for.

"I'm getting rid of it," Hermione spoke, almost in a whisper. She started to brush her hair now but avoided seeing his eyes, afraid of his reaction.

Harry didn't speak for a long time, most likely because he hadn't expected her to want this option, or maybe he just didn't agree with it. He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath before he looked at her.

"Are you sure about that? There are still complications that could happen if you go through with that option. It's a decision that could affect the rest of your life - "

Hermione suddenly turned on him now. "Stop telling me that! Don't you think I know all this? I know that you may not want me to get rid of it but I literally am not capable of raising a child right now under the present circumstances!"

Harry looked surprised at her sudden outburst but didn't become angry. He glanced down at the floor uncomfortably before looking back up at her. "Hermione, I understand that this is your body but… I just want you to think twice about what you want to do. You're killing a human being…"

She looked at him in disbelief now and shook her head. "Oh no… I am not hearing this from you! I can't believe that you think this way. Harry, this is a child that was born out of rape. As horrible as it sounds, I would just look into its eyes every day and only see… him, my attacker. I can't go through that hell, not again."

"Mia, just because it was made out of rape doesn't mean that you can't give it a loving home and raise it as your own! You don't have to think that way about it! You could have it, and give it to people who want to adopt. You don't have to terminate it!"

Hermione started feeling like she was being torn apart by two forces, Ha You could have it, and give it to people who want to adopt. You don't have to terminate it!"

Hermione started feeling like she was being torn apart by two forces, Harry's and her own. She quickly walked past him into her bedroom and put her underwear on, her towel still wrapped around her. She turned around and let the towel drop the floor now as she put on a bra and a shirt before she finally did turn around to face him.

"I need you to… just leave me alone about this. I-I can't handle all this pressure. It's my body, and I'll do what I feel is best for me. I'm sorry if you don't agree but-"

It was Harry's turn to interrupt her now and he did so with a vengeance. He started towards her threateningly and she backed away from him until her back hit the wall. "I don't agree! I hate what you want to do and you shouldn't have the right to even decide it! This child didn't rape you! It doesn't deserve what you want to do to it! You're killing an innocent life!"

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Ginny walking quickly over to rescue her from Harry's rage. She forced herself between him and Hermione and made distance between the two.

"What are you two arguing about? Leave her be, Harry!"

"It's alright, Gin," Hermione said, looking at Harry who was looking frustrated as he started walking backwards, away from the two girls. "Harry doesn't like it when people want to do something that he doesn't like."

Harry just shook his head at her now and looked at his watch. "Damn it, I have to go. I can't deal with this shit right now. I have work."

"Good, maybe you should leave," Hermione replied, pulling on a pair of her jeans, filled with her own frustration.

Harry glanced at her with cold eyes and then started down the hall to the front door. Ginny seemed to have thought about something and then she hurried out to meet Harry. "Wait, what about Draco? Are you still going to talk to the Headmaster?"

There were a few minutes of uncomfortable and tense silence on Harry's part as he put his coat on and then he finally spoke. "I'll see what I can do."

Harry apparated out and left Ginny alone with her thoughts. She sighed and started walking back to find Hermione. "Why were you two fighting?"

Hermione ran a hand through her wet hair and swallowed hard. "I-I'm pregnant. I was raped… about three weeks ago and… I got pregnant."

Ginny looked at her in stunned silence and then walked over to her and wrapped her arms around her, not really knowing what else to do. Hermione hugged her weakly back and then pulled away to sit on the bed.

"I'll be fine. I just… need to figure out what I should do from here. I don't have time right now though. I-I have to check on Draco," Hermione realized, standing up again to walk down the hallway.

She was grateful when she heard Ginny go into the kitchen instead of following her. Hermione gently opened Draco's bedroom door and saw him shaking. She ran out and poured a glass of water before grabbing two small white pills and then running carefully back into his bedroom and over to him.

"How are you feeling?"

Draco just shook his head repeatedly before he looked up at her. "L-Like… I'm going t-to die…"

Hermione helped him sit up and then helped him take the pills. "You're not going to die. I'd never let that happen, Draco," she replied as she took the glass from him and set it on the bedside table.

He dug in deeper into the covers on the bed and chuckled weakly. "I c-could be e-evil reincarnate a-and you wouldn't l-let me die. You're too c-compassionate a-about other p-people."

"You need to stop talking and try to relax and let the pills take effect. You'll be alright in a few minutes," Hermione turned to walk away when she felt a warm hand grab hers to stop her.

"P-Please," Draco begged. "D-Don't leave me… don't l-leave me a-alone right n-now…"

Hermione could see the beads of sweat on Draco's face and felt sympathy for him consume her. She walked into the bedroom bathroom and wet a towel before she came back out to him and started to dab his face with the cold washcloth. He appeared to relax a bit so she decided to make herself comfortable. She lifted the sheets and crawled underneath, continuing to dab his face gently.

"How is that? Does that help a little?"

Draco nodded through his shaking body and moved a bit closer to her. She didn't react, knowing that he was only doing this to make himself feel a bit safer. For the most part, Draco was alone in this room all day unless someone came in to give him medication. Hermione knew how it felt to be lonely, even when there were friends around.

"Good… just relax, Draco. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here so don't be scared to go back to sleep…"

He looked over at her with his stormy gray eyes that were soft and fearful, almost childlike. Draco started to close his eyes as the medication began to work but she never stopped dabbing the cold towel on his hot face. He was the only one she wanted to take care of. All she could think now was how she couldn't wait for him to get better.

**OoOoOo**

Hermione opened her eyes first and instantly felt sadness filling her up as she thought about her options with the baby and how Harry judged her so harshly. It was her body and as a woman, it was her choice what she did with it. Harry would never be pregnant so he couldn't possibly understand what she was going through. She turned over and watched Draco as he slept peacefully, his hands no longer trembling although, he was still sweating slightly.

Hermione sat up and swallowed hard, trying not to totally break down next to him. She didn't want to wake him with her problems. She took a deep breath but just as she did, she instantly felt a wave of nausea hit her. She ran into his bedroom bathroom just in time to empty her stomach into the toilet, not like there was much to empty though. She was so busy taking care of Draco that she hadn't really eaten anything. Something wasn't right though. This was the first time that she had actually felt nauseous from her pregnancy and on top of that , she didn't feel as hungry as she should. Maybe something was wrong…

Just then, a voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, are you okay?"

Hermione turned around to see Draco out of bed. "You need to get back into your bed… you shouldn't be up," she said weakly.

He searched her eyes and sighed to himself before he pushed a lock of her hair behind her ears. "What's going on, Granger? I heard you and Harry fighting earlier."

"H-Harry wants me to keep it," she spoke softly, her voice breaking off almost into a sob and she couldn't stop the tears from filling her eyes now. "I-I can't do it, Draco. I just c-can't…" Hermione closed the toilet seat and sat down on it now, putting her face in her hands as she started to cry.

Draco watched her and then knelt down on his knees before taking her hands gently. "This is your body. Harry has no say over what you do with it. If you're not ready for this baby, then you should make the right decision for yourself. There will be other babies," Draco said reassuringly, smiling comfortingly at her.

She wiped away her tears from her face and looked at him with sad, confused eyes. "H-He doesn't w-want me to kill it…"

He paused now and looked down at her hands before he gently caressed them, embracing the softness of her skin. "Do what will make you happy. This isn't about him. This isn't his life. This is yours, and you should… just be smart about it."

Hermione wiped away more tears and took a shaky breath, trying to calm herself now. She looked down at their hands and smiled softly. "T-Thank you, Draco. That really means a lot to me. W-We should get you into bed though… are you feeling all right?"

Draco chuckled a bit now and stood up as she started to too. "Just because I'm acting nice means that I'm still having withdrawal symptoms, is that it?" Draco joked, walking into his bedroom again.

Hermione looked over at him and shook her head. "You're nice when you're sober, and I like you that way best. We need to get you to stay that way."

Draco nodded in agreement and rubbed his eyes. "Is Ginny still here?"

"As far as I know, she still is. I'm going to get you another dose of your medication to help you get back to sleep - "

Draco chuckled now and shook his head. "Oh god, please don't. I don't want to sleep anymore. I'm feeling better now, I'm not hallucinating, I'm not shaking; just let me stay up with you for awhile."

Hermione ran her fingers through her hair and nodded. "Okay, do you think you can shower alone or do you want me around?"

Draco smirked now and he looked her up and down playfully. "I'm not sure I can do it alone, would you like to join me?"

Hermione got out a towel for him and threw it at him. "Well, you certainly haven't lost your sense of humor. Seriously, do you want me to help you shower?"

Draco shook his head. "Nah, that's alright. I think I can stand for ten minutes."

Hermione chuckled now and rolled her eyes. "Okay, then… I'll see you in the living room in ten minutes." She walked out of his bedroom and started into the kitchen to make tea.

"How's he doing?"

Hermione looked up from putting the kettle on the burner and froze, seeing Harry again. She looked down and hated herself for feeling uneasy. She searched his face with her confused eyes. "He's… he's better, actually."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement now. "Good… that's really great. I-I…umm… I talked to the Headmaster and he's allowing Draco to stay a professor at the school until he's all better, so… as far as anyone else is concerned, he's on medical leave."

Hermione turned her attention back to the kettle now and leaned against the counter as he walked closer to her. "That's wonderful," she said with no enthusiasm. "Thank you."

Harry just nodded as if to say 'you're welcome.' He ran a hand through his raven black hair and leaned against the opposite counter. "I'm sorry, Mia. I let my emotions get the best of me earlier."

"It's my body, and I'm going to do what I want to do, Harry," she said softly, not feeling strong in this moment.

"Fine, that's… that's fine, Hermione," Harry said, looking like he wanted to speak more but decidedly didn't. He took out two mugs from the cupboard as Hermione took out another one. He looked at her questioningly.

"D-Draco's having tea with us," she explained, taking out three tea bags as well from the cupboard. As her back was turned to reach up into the cupboard, she felt arms around her body now. She turned quickly and pushed him away. "What the hell are you doing?"

Harry looked almost surprised now and then his hurt turned to anger. "Isn't this what you want? I'm trying to comfort you!"

Hermione looked at him in disbelief and she shook her head. "Are you insane? No! I do not want you to comfort me like that! Putting the moves on someone is not comforting!"

"I see what it is; you just want Draco to comfort you. To hell with me, right, Hermione? I've only been helping the both of you this entire way!"

Hermione could see the anger in his eyes and she started walking away from him. "Why is it all about you, Harry? Draco is the one suffering!"

Harry let out a sick laugh now right before he grabbed one of the tea mugs and threw it near her, causing it to shatter everywhere. "Oh, and there's no pressure on me or anything, right? I'm doing all this shit for both of you! I went back and got your shit from my apartment, I helped you when Draco hurt you! Did you forget about that? Don't you remember when he broke your arm when he was drunk? I saved you from him!"

Hermione flinched when the mug broke near her. "And I was appreciative when that happened but that's not how Draco is normally, and you know it, Harry. You've been helping me, and that's been really nice of you…"

Harry shook his head. "You don't even care! Don't even pretend you do, Hermione! I saved his job, and you couldn't care less! You just want to be alone with him, I get it. To hell with _you_, Mia! I can't stay here anymore!"

At this point, she didn't want to stop him. She wanted him to leave and was sick of yelling at him while he yelled at her. She watched him head towards the door and slam it hard, leaving her in the middle of the pieces of broken mug on the floor.

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><p><strong>Please don't forget that reviews <em>are<em> appreciated!**


	14. Scared

Chapter Fourteen: Scared

. . . .

Hermione stood there, partly in disbelief and partly in frustration. She glanced over at Ginny who had started to clean up the broken mess Harry had left and then knelt down before she placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder.

"It's okay, Gin. I can clean this up," she said reassuringly, feeling like it was her fault that Harry had gotten so angry.

Ginny bit her lip nervously and nodded, but picked up the biggest pieces of the broken mug and threw them in the garbage before she left. Hermione ran a hand through her hair just as Draco hurried into the kitchen, his eyes alert.

"What the hell happened? I heard yelling…"

Hermione held back tears as she looked up at Draco with tired eyes and smiled weakly. "Take three guesses. It's fine though, I… I deserved it."

Draco shook his head immediately and grabbed a broom and dustpan and started to help her clean up. "It seems like Harry has a worse temper than I do," Draco chuckled. "Did he happen to say at all if he mentioned my situation to the headmaster?"

Hermione dumped the remainders of the broken mug into the garbage and folded her arms across her chest. "Oh, yeah; He did earlier. You're on medical leave."

"Great. I shouldn't be on medical leave too much longer though. I'm feeling a lot better," he smiled warmly.

Hermione walked over to him and silently felt his forehead with the back of her hand and then looked up into his eyes. "You still have a bit of a fever. Do you feel tremors or anything coming on? Are you anxious at all?"

"Only to get out of this house," he answered and then smirked. "What do you say you and me head to the Leaky Cauldron and get a few drinks?"

There was slyness in Draco's voice that made Hermione roll her eyes but smile brightly at the same time, knowing that he didn't mean it to sound that way. "Non-alcoholic drinks?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Yes, non-alcoholic drinks. I was thinking butterbeers."

Hermione took a step back, realizing just how close she had been to Draco. She sighed contently and nodded. "That sounds like fun. Umm… I think we both could use a shower so let's meet back here in ten minutes? Is that alright?"

"Yeah, of course. Take as long as you need, Granger."

She smiled softly and then started down the hall and then suddenly stopped, having thought about something. She bit her lip and spun around on her heels before she looked at Draco.

"Is this… a-a date?"

Draco's face turned serious from his usual playful self and searched Hermione's chestnut eyes. "Not unless you want it to be. In all honesty, I don't think I've been healthy or sober enough to be in a relationship yet… so… it is whatever you want it to be."

"I'm surprised that you're… not surprised that… I want to go out with you. Is it because… you don't want to be with me at all or - "

"What? Oh, no. Granger, trust me. I really would not mind if you wanted me as your boyfriend and I wouldn't turn you down. I've always had a crush on you, and…there's never a moment when I never want to be with you. It's just that… you're going through your own thing right now with your pregnancy, and… I'm going through my own thing trying to sober myself up and get back on my feet. I didn't think you would want to be in a relationship right now with me with everything that's been going on."

Hermione nodded and looked down at the hardwood floor, unsure how to feel. She was quiet for several moments before she looked up at him again. "I… feel something really strong for you, Draco. I think you're right though. Maybe we should just…take it slow?"

Draco nodded in understanding and smiled. "That's perfectly fine. We can go as slow as you want. There's no pressure."

Hermione relaxed again and then walked over to Draco and wrapped her arms around him, feeling warm when he did the same with her. She breathed in his scent that lingered on his clothes and then kissed his cheek before she headed towards her room to shower and get ready.

Draco watched her go into the bedroom that he had assigned for her the last time she had stayed at his house and then returned to his own room to get ready. He quickly showered and put on his clothes before he walked back into the kitchen, noticing that Hermione wasn't ready yet. He glanced down the hall and then walked into the sun room outside and dialed Harry's number, feeling bitterness engulf him.

"Hello?"

"Hey, that was fantastic you leaving us all high and dry like that, by the way…"

Draco heard a sigh on the other end and then an equally bitter voice spoke. "You know what, you two really have to work on showing your appreciation! I just saved your job and you couldn't care less. You have a history of not showing gratitude though, so I naturally don't expect a lot from you!"

"What's your problem with Granger? Are you that stubborn in your ways that you can't accept what she wants to do and be happy? It's fine if you're angry with me but you don't have to take it out on her!"

"You two are fucking perfect for each other, Draco. You both only care about yourselves and you're both just as selfish and hardheaded as the other! Don't you even talk about how I'm stubborn in my ways when you're the one who seems to drown himself in alcohol every time he sees a glass of firewhisky. Take a good look at yourselves because it's not me who is fucked up! It's you!"

Draco then heard him hang out and he hung up too before he put his phone away. Harry couldn't stand that Hermione cared about Draco so much. He sighed and then heard footsteps behind him and smiled gently when he saw Hermione dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt, her small body looking frighteningly skeletal almost. His stomach flip flopped and then he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Are you ready?"

Hermione smiled back at him and nodded. "Yep, let's go."

Draco walked over to her and took her hand in his before he apparated the two of them into Hogsmeade. As they started walking down the snow covered pathway, he glanced at her. "What do you say we order a dinner while we're there? It's on me."

She didn't look up at him but she nodded, having a guess about what Draco was thinking. It was the same thing as Harry was thinking; only Draco went about it in a not so obvious way.

"I know… that this is the last thing you want to talk about but - "

Hermione stopped now and looked at him with hesitant eyes. "Let's… not do that right now, Draco. It's been a really hard week for both of us and I just want us to relax tonight, okay? We'll eat dinner, we'll talk and then we'll go home."

This took him aback but he took the sudden change in stride. Draco nodded in agreement and bit his lip before he started to walk again with her towards The Leaky Cauldron. He felt her hand tense up in his now and he looked up in time to see Ron Weasley walking towards them, looking sleep deprived and guilty. He instinctively stepped half in front of Hermione now, just in case Ron wanted to try anything.

"Umm, I know what you must be thinking but… I-I'm sorry. I don't know what's come over me these past couple weeks. I-I don't want to… keep you but I just need to know. H-Have either of you seen my sister?"

Draco searched Ron's eyes carefully and nodded once. "She's okay. She's safe. You don't have any intentions on hurting her too, do you?"

Ron instantly shook his head now. "No, no. I just… wanted to know she was safe. Err… thanks," he said before he quickly parted separate ways with them and headed towards The Three Broomsticks.

Draco glanced at Hermione and then took her hand again before they walked inside the Leaky Cauldron and found a table for them. "Well that was reasonably awkward."

She nodded in agreement and gave him a small smile. "I didn't expect to see him around here. I wonder if Harry's staying with him or vice versa."

Draco shrugged and sighed softly. "Just as long as neither of them tries to come to my house and hurt you or Ginny. I don't know what's gotten into either of them lately. They're both taking some kind of psychotic potion."

Hermione waited until after their waiter had come over and taken their drinks before she looked at Draco and spoke.

"Harry helped you. He helped you keep your job, and… he helped me when you were having your tremors and going through withdrawal. It's not like he's never done any good for us."

"I know, I'm… I'm sorry. I know I should be more appreciative but… I hate how he treats you when you don't deserve it. I won't say anything negative about him anymore."

Hermione smiled weakly. "Thank you. I just think that he's helped us more than he's hurt us. He has a strong opinion about my current situation but he ultimately forgets that it's my decision and nothing he says is going to change what I want to do."

Draco had the urge to ask her what she was going to do but decided against it. She might not want to talk about it right now so he didn't bring it up. "Have you decided what you want to eat?"

Hermione looked down at her menu and nodded. "I think I'm going to get the bowtie pasta with mushrooms. What about you?"

Draco rubbed the back of his neck gently as he looked down at the menu, not feeling that hungry as he was earlier. The thoughts of Harry's mistreatment and verbal abuse of Hermione had made him lose a part of his appetite and made his blood boil, although he wasn't about to ruin dinner with her right now.

"Erm…I'll just have a salad, I think. I'm not really that hungry," Draco replied, glancing over and seeing a couple drinking white wine from their glasses. He gave Hermione a small smile.

She looked at him apprehensively before she nodded and then gave their orders to the waiter when he came over. "And for your drinks?" He soon asked again.

Hermione searched Draco's eyes and could see the anxiety in them. She glanced back up at the waiter kindly. "Two waters, please."

The waiters wrote this down and then walked away into the kitchen. Once Hermione knew he was out of hearing range, she looked at Draco. "Are you okay?"

Draco was feeling upset with himself; he had no right to feel this weak in front of Hermione. He couldn't fuck this up, not after he waited so long to go on a proper date with her. He nodded and ran his hand through his blonde hair.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. T-Thanks… for ordering our drinks," he said softly, looking down at the table in shame.

Hermione smiled lovingly at him now and then reached across the semi-dusty table and gently grabbed his hand before taking it in hers. "You can do this, Draco. I know this must be difficult for you but you're doing really good so far. You don't need alcohol to be happy. You have me, alright?" Hermione half smirked.

Draco chuckled under his breath and squeezed her hand affectionately. "Thank you. I'm glad at least one person has faith in me."

"Harry does too. If he didn't, you wouldn't still have a job to go back to. Anyway, this dinner isn't going to be about him. It's about us, and we both deserve to have something nice in our lives."

He nodded in agreement and thanked the waiter when he placed their food and water glasses in front of them before disappearing again. Draco felt odd still holding her hand and was afraid that she wouldn't want to while they ate dinner. The idea seemed a bit awkward in itself so he tried to casually remove his hand from hers and became involved with eating his salad. They ate in a somewhat comfortable silence but then Draco eventually felt like they had to talk more.

"So…umm… How long do you think Ginny will be staying with us?"

Hermione looked surprised when he asked this and she swallowed her bite of pasta before she looked up at him. "I-I'm not really sure. I mean, it is your house so… of course you can decide when you want her to leave…"

Draco bit his lip slightly as he stabbed at his salad. "She can leave whenever she wants, or… she can stay as long as she wants. She's not bothering me in any way."

When he said this, Hermione felt her stomach twist uncomfortably and she was sure it wasn't because of her dinner. She took a long drink of water and looked down at her food, afraid to make eye contact with Draco before she spoke again.

"Do you… feel something towards her?"

"What? No… I mean, I'd consider her a friend but… if you're asking if I love her, like… I love you… then the answer is no. You're… the only woman for me," Draco said, smiling softly.

Hermione had to bite her lip to keep herself from grinning now but it didn't do any good. She turned serious again though quickly and kept her eyes on her food.

"It's nice… to have her around. She's… helping me during my… situation. I-I think I know what I'm going to do with the baby, Draco."

Draco looked at her curiously now and searched her face. "What are you going to do with it?"

Hermione was quiet for several moments before she finally spoke. "I-I think I'm going to put it up for adoption. W-What do you think?"

He swallowed his bite of salad and nodded after hearing her decision. "I think that's a good choice. I mean, there are a lot of health risks with having an abortion so… I think this is the wisest option. If you ultimately do decide for sure that you're going to have this baby and put it up for adoption, you need to put on some weight and be healthy. You're really… really small to have a child and if you're underweight while you're carrying this child, then you might miscarry it or something else could go really wrong."

Hermione listened to him and put down her fork before she took a drink of water. "Funny, it seems like Harry has possessed your body for a second there…"

Draco put his own fork down now and sighed but still kept his patience. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like him. I know he harped on you all the time about gaining weight to carry the baby and… I didn't mean to… sound like him. I'm just telling you what any nurse or doctor most likely would tell you too. I just want you to be healthy and safe."

Hermione half smiled, knowing that he meant well but the last thing she wanted was another Harry in her company. "Will… you help me? Will you help me to be healthy about this and h-help me through my pregnancy? I-I mean, it's stupid of me to ask because you're not the father so you don't have to help me if you don't want to but… I-I'm scared, Draco. I… am so terrified and… I c-can't do this alone," Hermione almost whispered in a pleading tone.

It was his turn to reach across the table now and he took her hand in his rough one before he gently caressed it soothingly. "I'm here for you. I will do everything in my power to help you through this pregnancy the best I can. I want the baby to be healthy just as much as you do, and if you're healthy, then the baby will be healthy. I'm not like Harry. I'm not going anywhere, alright? You can trust me."

Draco felt her relax immensely now and she smiled gratefully at him, tears pooling in her chestnut colored eyes. She nodded now and took a deep breath. "Okay… okay. Thank you, Draco. T-That really means a lot to me."

He brought her hand up to his mouth and planted a soft kiss on it before he smiled and then released her hand. "I'm glad. Now let's finish up here and then maybe we can go for a walk?"

Hermione agreed and they began to eat their dinners again, sharing glances at each other every so often. When they had finished and Draco had paid for everything, they stood up and walked out of The Leaky Cauldron, hand in hand, determined to not let anyone or anything ruin this amazing thing they had going.

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><p>Let me know what ya think!<p> 


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